Labs and More: KONG Toys Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
After successfully reaching our 13th year of operation in serving rescued dogs in San Diego County, our organization is preparing to take the next step in its evolution into a highly effective, nationally recognized model, Rescue and Care Organization. This grant empowered Labs and More to expand its capacity to serve additional rescued dogs and their puppies with expanded services.
Labs and More recently expanded its facilities to provide the capacity to place more dogs, as well as their puppies, in forever homes that will care for and nourish them for years to come. However, we still lacked the funding for supplies needed to support these rescued dogs and their vulnerable puppies. This grant provided critical assistance in preparing these rescued dogs for their path to adoption and their forever families.
Specifically, our proposed Dog Toy & Enrichment Project provided critically needed KONG toys for use in the expanded space. Labs and More did not have the supplies necessary to serve its expanded number of dogs. We truly have utilized all of our resources on food and medical care to ensure these amazing dogs have paths to their forever homes. With over 500 volunteers operating and providing care to Labs and More, the operation is truly fueled by the energy and drive of community members. Without the support of KONG, Labs and More would have had do to with secondhand items, which often do not have the quality that these amazing new Kong items provided.
How many pets did this grant help?
1,834
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Immanuel, a senior dog found hiding under a box in a high-[intake] shelter, embodied resilience. Despite have been beaten and scarred, he wagged his tail at our rescuer. His journey home revealed severe wounds, a debilitating limp, and a transmissible venereal tumor requiring eight chemotherapy sessions. Further diagnosis showed he needed expensive knee surgery to ever walk comfortably again.
After his surgery, Immanuel remained shy and hesitant to interact with others. However, his KONG toy brought him out of his shell and got him to interact with other dogs and staff. After just a week with a KONG, Immanuel was dropping his toy in the laps of volunteers to play. When he was adopted by his forever family, he was sure to take his KONG toy with him.
