Henry County Humane Society-Geneseo: Dog Enrichment Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
Our shelter was able to purchase high-quality toys that suited certain needs of many different dogs in our shelter. We have some dogs who were starting to experience kennel deterioration and needed toys that would help ease that.
We were able to get soothing saucers, which help some of our dogs by providing an enriching licking toy to help them relax and relieve stress. We got treat/food dispensers that require the dog to use their brains to get to their food to slow down their eating and also provide mental stimulation.
The current dogs in our shelter all also got their own Playology scented toy, which is beneficial to their mental stimulation. Each of their scented toys were specific for that dog's needs, whether it be a chew toy, a ball, or a rope toy for tugging.
How many pets did this grant help?
35
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Sweetie (first photo) is one of the dogs we specifically had in mind for this grant.
She has anxiety in her kennel and has been experiencing kennel deterioration. She exhibits high-anxiety behaviors such as pacing, spinning, and excessive licking of kennel doors.
We had her evaluated by a behavioral trainer for this and other behaviors that were making it hard to find the right home. Some of the trainer’s recommendations were to give Sweetie a variety of enrichment and constantly be introducing different toys to her each day. We knew the scented toys and the soothing saucers would be great tools for Sweetie to ease some of her anxiety.
Sweetie is still looking for the right dog-savvy home, but until then, these new enrichment toys will help make her stay more tolerable.
