Capital Area Humane Society: Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
Toys, treats and enrichment items for our Freedom from Boredom program.
Freedom from Boredom provides mental, physical and social stimulation to animals in our shelter to keep their minds and bodies busy. Enrichment keeps social, well-adjusted animals from declining in a shelter environment and helps bring out the real personality in animals who originally present as hostile, scared or unreceptive to human contact.
How many pets did this grant help?
648 during the three-month period.
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Chance is a large pit bull rescued by our humane agents in November 2016 after he was found abandoned by his owners. Upon admission, he was scared and reactive, needing to be control-poled to be vaccinated. Thanks to the hard work of staff and volunteers in our enrichment program, we were able to uncover a very smart, playful boy who delighted in puzzle toys, games, and all types of sensory enrichment. His behavior improved and he was able to be placed up for adoption in late January of 2017 and found his forever home on April 4, 2017.
“Thank you so much to the Petfinder Foundation for providing an Adoption Options in Action grant in support of the Capital Area Humane Society’s enrichment program. We provide the highest quality of care for our animals and have raised the bar this past year by adding a formal enrichment program to provide physical, intellectual and social enrichment options for our animals. The grant enabled us to purchase enrichment items such as puzzle feeders, ball pits, bubble machines, healthy treats, scenting products and more. We want to keep wiggle-butts wiggling and introduce new experiences to animals who may have only known life at the end of a chain with little socialization. Thank you for helping our cats, dogs, rabbits and many ‘other’ species that we care for each year!”
Rachel D.K. Finney, CAWA
Executive Director
Capital Area Humane Society
(Third photo: Potbellied pig Little Bit enjoying his puzzle feeder and ball)
