Give a Dog a Home Rescue: Dog Field Trip/Short-Term Fostering Grant Report

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

With the grant funding awarded, we were able to purchase high-quality, safe, secure, and comfortable harness, leashes, martingale collars, "Adopt Me" bandanas, seatbelt attachments, drawstring bags, 30-foot training leashes, and other items that we are able to kit our dogs out in and provide families with that they will need and use when they take a dog out on an adventure.

We have had several dogs go out on the program; some have been for a day, but several have been for overnight and weekend stays. We have received fantastic photos and feedback that is so helpful for the dogs' bios, and the dogs come back to the rescue so revitalized and ready to sleep and dream of their wonderful time.

Families have told us how much fun they had and how good they feel to be able to help the rescue and be a part of making the dogs' stay here much better and, of course, hopefully helping to find their forever homes.

Without the grant, we would not have been able to set up and run this program, and with adoptions dropping significantly across the U.S., the length of stay the dogs have here has increased, so this is much more important to the dogs' mental and physical wellbeing.

How many pets did this grant help?

250

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

Courage was our first pup to go out on a field trip. The family had previously adopted a pup from us a few months previously and felt strongly about our mission and work and wanted to give back.

They came over to the rescue on a volunteer day to help out and brought their beautiful 3-year-old daughter so she could meet some of the dogs and see who would be a good fit to enjoy their family on a day out and sleepover.

A few days later, they reached out and scheduled to come and take Courage, as their daughter had been very drawn to him and he was very sweet and gentle.

They came to pick him up and we got him ready with the harness, “Adopt Me” leash, collar, bandana, and a seatbelt attachment and off they went.

The family later reached out to ask if they could foster Courage since he had fit so well with their family, and the pup they had adopted a few months earlier was having a blast. Of course I agreed and they sent pictures and updates of their adventures: walking, hiking, and family life in their home.

Then a week later, I had the best email stating that they wanted to adopt Courage.

This would not have happened without the program, and Give a Dog a Home Rescue would not have been able to set up and run the program without the funding and support from the Petfinder Foundation.

We hope to have many more success stories such as this, but couldn’t be happier for our very first field trip day out.