Lynchburg Humane Society: KONG Toys Grant Report

How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?

To purchase Kongs for enrichment for our adoptable dogs.

We are so grateful for this Kong grant. Kongs help our shelter pets in ways we can't describe. They keep them busy and lessen the anxiety of living in a shelter, and all of that helps them find homes. Kongs literally save lives.

How many pets did this grant help?

75 and counting

Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.

Ranger came to the Lynchburg Humane Society Appomattox Pet Center as a stray and was riddled with anxiety. He was a very calm and loving boy outside of his kennel, but inside of his kennel was a different story: He would flip his bed and bowls, shred blankets and shake rope toys so hard that he would injure himself. The noise associated with kennel life was just too stressful for him to handle and he needed a distraction while we searched to find a foster to work with him on training until he could find an adopter that best suited his needs.

Ranger loves peanut butter and moist and meaty dog food. We stuffed a huge Kong with food, sealed it with peanut butter and stuck it in the freezer to ensure it would be long-lasting. This was soon to be Ranger’s new favorite toy and a treat that would keep him distracted for hours on end. Ranger went into foster with one of the staff members for a couple of days and came back with lots of newly learned tricks (as long as there was a Kong ready for him after all the hard work of training). Today, he is in his adopted home still learning new things every day, only to be rewarded with his peanut butter-filled Kong.