Humane Society of Clarksville-Montgomery Co.: WAHL Grooming Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
We received six bottles of Wahl shampoo to be used to provide extra pampering for resident and incoming pets in our foster program. Ninety percent of dogs brought in to our foster program are saved from the local [open-admission] shelter. The shelter dogs come to us in many stages of "stink," so one of the BEST gifts we can give to our foster families is to provide them with a CLEAN dog. :) And the dogs feel SO much better, too!
We maximized our Wahl grant by partnering with a local grooming shop, The Vanity Fur, who offered a dozen FREE baths and grooms for current and future dogs in our foster program using Wahl products. Each Christmas, the Humane Society solicits for items from each foster pet's wish list as part of our Secret Santa Paws fundraiser program. This year, the Wahl donation inspired us to expand our Secret Santa Paws program to include a FREE bath and groom for every foster pet. Our foster families have been elated, and I'm almost ashamed that we never thought to do it sooner! We thank Wahl for the inspiration!
How many pets did this grant help?
Twelve, with potential for more ...
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Fatty Patty was an overweight 9-year-old Puggle who was picked up as a stray by the county shelter. Despite her sweet disposition, her chances of adoption were bleak because she was heartworm positive and had a huge fatty tumor the size of a baseball hanging from her back leg. We were SO happy to have found a foster home for Patty Cakes (a name change was in order!), and she was the very first pooch to benefit from the Wahl grant. And then, the BEST news ever: Patty Cakes was SO charming with the grooming staff and with every person and dog who entered, they unanimously decided to ADOPT her as their top shop dog! Patty Cakes “lives” at the shop but goes home with the owner on nights and weekends, when she has even managed to weasel her way into their bed at night. Patty has started her heartworm treatment and goes in for surgery this Friday to have the fatty tumor removed from her leg.
Minnie is a senior Rat Terrier who has been our longest foster resident, having been with us for over a year now. Despite her age, Minnie is all terrier and loves to romp and play in the backyard, which means it’s tough to keep her clean! Her foster mom was quick to take advantage of the free Wahl bath offer and the very next day (before Minnie could dirty herself again in the yard), she brought Minnie to see Santa Paws at our photo shoot fundraiser where Minnie and her foster mom both asked Santa to send her a forever home for the holidays!
