Humane Society of Valdosta/Lowndes County: KONG Toys Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
The dogs in our care are just here for a pitstop -- at least that's the goal. While we can't give them everything a true home can, having amazing enrichment items like those received in the KONG grant means we can make the most out of the time they are with us. The super tough ones are especially helpful. We recently took in a 165-lb. Neapolitan mastiff and he definitely appreciates his every day!
How many pets did this grant help?
Hopefully 500-1,000!
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
The first dog who comes to mind who benefitted from this grant was a very spunky and crazy dog named Sassy. She was the type of dog who needed a slow feeder or treat-dispensing toy for her meals because she was always needing to do something in her kennel. If she wasn’t getting attention, she had to be kept busy!
She absolutely loved her KONG at the end of each day. When she was done cleaning it out or chewing her bully stick, she would throw it around like the rest of the toys in her pile. She especially loved the bully stick bone-shaped toy and always wanted to take it with her on her walks.
Sadly, Sassy was humanely euthanized this past week. She was so full of life and happy that she never let us know how serious her heartworm condition was. We knew she had tested positive and started treatment, but she never showed any serious symptoms to make us think she was anything other than ready for her forever home.
We were incredibly shocked to find out that her whole right ventricle was full of worms. By the time we learned this, she was too far gone for more aggressive treatment to be an option.
Letting her go was so hard knowing she never had a home of her own. She spent her final weekend being exceptionally loved in a foster home like the princess she was, still holding on to her favorite KONG bone. Having the KONG grant meant that when Sassy was on restricted physical activity, she still got to keep her mind busy and was happy all the way up until the end.
