Second Chance Animal Services: Dog Field Trip/Short-Term Fostering Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
The Second Chance Animal Services program “Dog's Day Out” helps reduce stress for dogs in kennels, provides them with enrichment, and increases their visibility in the community with potential adopters.
The program is designed to make participation easy. No prior experience is needed and participants are provided with everything they need for a successful field trip.
On field-trip day, all dogs wear special "Adopt Me" bandanas and leashes to increase the chances the dog will be noticed by a potential loving furever family. After the dogs are returned, the volunteers fill out a "report card" on the day's events, helping staff to learn more about the dog to help find the best adoptive family possible. We utilize this program to spread the word in the community about adoption, available animals, volunteer opportunities, and general information about our organization.
The Dog's Day Out program not only provides tremendous enrichment and play for the dogs in the kennels, but it also loans a dog to a welcome participant to enjoy for the day and provides incredible feedback to staff on how the dog behaves in varying situations. All of this feedback is essential in finding the best home for every dog.
While dogs are being exercised on their day out, our staff gets extra time to perform all necessary shelter duties or to assist other potential adopters. The pets LOVE their days out and can be found hiking, playing catch, interacting with their volunteer, and soaking up the sun, exactly as they should be!
With your funds, we were able to purchase the following supplies: $204.83 in "Adopt Me" vests, leashes and bandanas; $485.45 in toys, treats, and water; $239.82 in poo/waste bags and holders; $32.96 in travel water bowls; and $73.29 in ink.
How many pets did this grant help?
We adopt an average of 1,500-1,700 animals a year. Many hundreds of dogs are available during the course of the year for extra enrichment, including the Dog's Day Out program. Often our Project Good Dog graduates (pairing of dogs with incarcerated individuals at local correctional facilities) are great candidates for Dog's Day Out, as they have received some one-on-one socializing and care.
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Bearnadette and Bowser (first and second photos) are a bonded pair who love their Dogs’ Days Out! They are cuddly, sweet, and great on-leash. Walking, running, and having fun, so long as they are together, makes these two jump for joy.
As Project Good Dog graduates, they make perfect Dog’s Day Out buddies who can hike, be content in a car, and practice their “Sit!” and “Stay!” They are looking for their furever home together and can be found on Petfinder.
You can meet Bearnadette here.
Arlo (third and fourth photos) has been adopted. Using this Dog’s Day Out program gave us valuable information about his behavior away from the shelter. Using this info, we were able to find him his furever home.
