RescuedOhio: KONG Toys Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
The Kong Classic dog toys have been used for training and enrichment for our foster dogs.
As a nonprofit dog rescue, we have a very limited budget for nonessential items. The Kong product grant helped us to enrich the lives of many of the foster dogs in our care by providing a versatile toy that can be tailored to specific dogs' preferences by stuffing them with a variety of yummy foodstuffs. For some of our dogs, the Kong Classic is the first toy they ever encountered, and it is the toy that teaches them good play! The Kong Classic dog toys are also an indispensable training device for some of our foster dogs. Our foster families use the toys to crate-train dogs, to entice dogs who are afraid of cars to enjoy a ride to the park or vet, and simply to reward good behavior. Our rescue uses a positive-reinforcement philosophy, and the Kong Classic dog toys help us to stay true to that mission and make dogs more adoptable!
How many pets did this grant help?
To date, more than 50! Many of our foster families have used the Kongs for more than one dog, so this number continues to grow!
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Garfunkel (first photo) has been with RescuedOhio since March 4, 2017, and is one of our dogs who has benefited GREATLY from the Kong product grant. Garfunkel came to us heartworm-positive, and with strong attachment issues that resulted in him becoming very anxious when crated or not next to a human. Separation anxiety was ruled out by a trainer, but due to the physical restrictions placed on Garfunkel as part of his heartworm treatment (he needs to keep his heart rate very low), it was concerning how worked up he got when he needed to be crated. Further, as a medium-energy-level dog, Garfunkel was difficult to keep happy and busy without his being able to go for long walks or a romp in the yard with his fur-siblings. With the help of the Kong Classic toy, stuffed with peanut butter and frozen, Garfunkel was able to learn that the crate is an okay place to be. The peanut butter Kong kept him busy and distracted during the initial moments after he was crated, and by the time he finished the frozen Kong, he was relaxed enough to rest or sleep in his crate until his foster mom returned. The frozen peanut butter Kong became, and continues to be, an essential part of Garfunkel’s crating routine while he finishes his heartworm treatment. Meet Garfunkel: www.petfinder.com/petdetail/37762191
Rumer and her sister Talullah were 13-week-old puppies who came to RescuedOhio with their mom. The puppies were adopted very quickly, but they enjoyed playing with their Kong toys, and their foster mom used treat-stuffed Kongs for crate training and to help keep those active little puppies busy! The second photo shows Garfunkel and Rumer sharing some Kong time on an orange sheet. It is their foster mama’s favorite photo of them! Additional photos of pups and Kongs follow, including one of our fosters who loves to play with his Kong in the kiddie pool!
