Humane Animal Treatment Society: Orvis Dog Enrichment Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
Our Orvis grant that we received was used to purchase 12 brand new, durable Kuranda beds for our dog kennel, 13 replacement Kuranda bed legs, 20 martingale collars and 10 leashes for our dogs when they are taken out on volunteer walks.
This grant really helped our organization by replacing our most well-loved Kuranda beds that have gone through the most wear and tear. Many of the ones we currently had were chewed on the sides, had a missing leg or were just becoming difficult to clean as well as our staff would have liked. By receiving this grant, we were able to purchase brand new ones with a more-washable fabric, and the dogs have been loving them so far.
We had a lot of escape artists in our kennel at one time a few months ago. Since we send our dogs out on walks with volunteers, we need our equipment (leashes, collars, and harnesses) to be reliable and without fault. Unfortunately, flat collars can be easy for a dog to back out of and get loose from. Because of this we chose to put our escape-artist dogs on martingale collars to eliminate this issue for the safety of all.
How many pets did this grant help?
At least 30 already, and countless in the future as more dogs come into our care.
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Broggy, a husky mix (first photo), was one of the many dogs who were most helped by this grant. Broggy came to us with porcupine quills in her face. After vet care, she went onto the adoption floor and was able to go on volunteer walks. From the beginning, Broggy was the master of slipping her collar. It was decided that she would go on walks in a harness, but then it took staff five minutes to put her in a harness. It was stressful for both staff and volunteers knowing that Broggy would try and slip her collar every time she went on a walk. When we purchased our first set of martingale collars, Broggy was one of the first dogs who received one. From that moment on, the staff didn’t have to worry about her slipping her collar or fussing with a complicated harness. Broggy was adopted on Oct. 30, 2018!
Reggie, a hound mix (second photo), is a staff favorite and an absolute sweetheart. He is currently at our shelter. He adores his Kuranda bed. Reggie has genetically poor back knees at 6 years old and is currently in laser therapy. He never leaves his bed, and getting a new Kuranda bed helped him stay off the solid concrete floor and support his knees. Reggie is still at our shelter and looking for his forever home. From his Petfinder profile: “I’m a laid-back guy who will let you know when I want attention and love. I can be independent and waddle around doing my own thing, but I still really would like for someone to love me unconditionally. I could possibly live in a home with other dogs if we met first and our personalities are compatible. I could live in a home with feline siblings or children.” You can meet Reggie here.
