Helping Hands Humane Society: KONG Toys Grant Report

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

We were granted KONG products, which volunteers filled with treats, froze, and then handed out to dogs in their kennels.

The KONGs help us in a lot of ways! Of course they provide mental stimulation and something fun for the dogs to do while they're in their kennels, but they are also an important way for level 1 volunteers (who haven't yet been trained to get dogs out of their kennels) to feel involved and connected with the shelter pets. Plus, the public really enjoys seeing dogs playing with the KONGs and having fun. It helps show off some of their personalities and spunk!

How many pets did this grant help?

I would guess that at least 200 adoptable dogs have benefited from the donated KONGs so far, and many more will in the future!

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

Axel is currently our longest-term resident dog. When dogs are in the shelter environment for this long, it’s very important to provide various kinds of enrichment for them each day. A treat-filled KONG is one of these important enrichment tools for us! Check out Axel and a bunch of his buddies enjoying their KONGs in this video: http://bit.ly/2iw2bON Here is Axel’s Petfinder profile: www.petfinder.com/petdetail/39374547

Rufus was one of our longest-term residents — a black Lab mix who had seizures and didn’t show well in his kennel because he was a bit reactive and had lots of energy. He showed off his fun and playful side when he got a KONG in his kennel, though! It also helped to burn off some of that extra energy of his. You can see Rufus and other shelter dogs loving the donated KONGs in this video: http://bit.ly/2yKL8fK Rufus has been adopted! He is pictured with his new mom and dad in the second photo.

I focused so much on making these videos that I failed to get some high-quality photos of dogs with the KONGs. If you’d like me try to get a good photo of Axel enjoying a KONG to feature him, please let me know and I’ll get on it! I’ve attached a few still shots from the videos that I thought were cute.