Leitchfield Animal Shelter: Bar Dog Operation Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
This grant allowed us to build three agility courses for the dogs in each of our outdoor play areas. Our staff and volunteers are using training treats to teach the dogs how to maneuver each obstacle and it is really helping with their mental stimulation.
Another great way the grant has helped our shelter is by wearing the dogs out so they lie down and take naps in their kennels instead of constantly barking. This actually helps the cats because they hear less of the dogs. Cats tend to stress out in the shelter and hearing the barking doesn't help, so getting the dogs to quiet down really helps them.
We have volunteers who regularly visit the shelter. In addition to walking the dogs, they can now also have the challenge of teaching the dogs new tricks with the agility course. They are immediately impressed when they drive up and see the bright colors and we couldn't be more thankful for the Petfinder Foundation granting us this money.
How many pets did this grant help?
We take in around 1,400 animals per year. Although they don't all get to go out and play, the improvement in morale in the shelter helps all of the pets here.
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Hootie (first photo), a shepherd mix who was surrendered for chasing cattle, really enjoys the agility course.
It was apparent when he came to the shelter that Hootie needed a job. He is very smart and with idle time, he’d found his own job: chasing livestock. Unfortunately, that got him in trouble and landed him here at the shelter.
The agility course is a new job for Hootie. It gives him something to focus on and keeps him from getting bored (photos 2 through 5). He is still here waiting for his forever home, but we think he’ll get one soon, and the agility course is a great way to show off his intelligence to a potential adopter.
Another of our dogs in particular, a black Lab named Kylo (sixth photo), has had some behavioral issues such as jumping on people, pulling, and barking aggressively at other dogs. A staff member has been working with him daily on jumping through hoops and running up a board, and we are all so impressed by his ability to focus! He just needed the one-on-one attention and a challenge.
