Springfield Humane Society: KONG Toys Grant Report

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

We believe that a pet's mental health is just as important as its physical health. Along those lines, we have aromatherapy, music therapy, sun tubes for natural light, off-leash play yards, and, most importantly, items to help with boredom!

We use Kongs and fill them with various yummies, then freeze them. It takes the dogs a good part of the day to get all the treats out of it. Some dogs who eat too fast will get their meals from a Kong. Some frightened dogs may not be able to focus, so we make the treats easy to get out, and over time make them harder and then frozen. Little successes help them gain confidence.

How many pets did this grant help?

ALL of our dogs get Kongs: 200-300 a year!

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

Lacy came to us a terrified, starved little dog. She was so afraid of the world! So we began to give her Kongs. Initially she would eye them nervously in her kennel. Then she decided to try one. You could just SEE the excitement: “Wow, these are GOOD!”

Slowly she gained more confidence (and weight) and then today she got adopted!