Friends of the St. Joseph Animal Shelter, Inc.: KONG Toys Grant Report

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

The Kong toy products were used for shelter-dog-enrichment to increase mental and physical stimulation for the dogs during their time in the shelter.

This grant helps us to further establish our dog-enrichment program created in 2015. Our goal is to provide all dogs with not only physical but also mental stimulation while they are in the shelter environment. The KONG toys are utilized by filling them with food and treats, freezing them, then distributing them to the dogs in the shelter. They help not only with mental stimulation but also to help increase adoptability of the shelter's dogs.

How many pets did this grant help?

16+ pets

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

Bongo is a 1-year-old brown-and-white pit bull mix who came into our shelter as a stray with owner identification. After we made several attempts to contact the owner, Bongo waited at the shelter to be adopted. Bongo is a very active dog who got tired of being at the shelter quickly, and would rather have been outside playing. By providing Bongo with the KONG toy each day, we saw a decrease in his stress levels, and after a month, Bongo found his forever home!