Rockingham County Animal Shelter: Dog Enrichment Grant Report

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

This grant helped our dog enrichment program tremendously. We disposed of the old Kongs that were falling apart and were able to purchase more than enough new Kongs and slow-feeder toys since the grant was for more than we had asked.

We have numerous dogs that have been in our care for 30+ days and we try to find as many ways as possible to give them enrichment to prevent kennel stress and boredom.

Because of this grant allowing us to purchase all-new toys, we do a weekly "Kong Day" for our canine residents. A volunteer or staff member fills the toys with anything we have on hand, such as treats, canned cheese, and peanut butter, and passes them out. All of our dogs truly enjoy "Kong Day," as it gives them a small break from the same day-to-day kennel life.

Previously, we did not have many usable Kongs, so we were only able to do this type of enrichment for the dogs we felt needed some extra enrichment in that moment; however, now all the dogs are able to enjoy this special treat on a weekly basis.

How many pets did this grant help?

101

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

Bowser was in our care from May 20, 2023, until just recently: Aug. 21. He began to become very bored and kennel-stressed. We posted him multiple times to our social media pages as Urgent for this reason.

We found out that he really loves Kongs and they would help him relax. I know this helped him get adopted, so hopefully he will have a good life in his new forever home.