Lucky Dog Animal Rescue: KONG Toys Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
Lucky Dog Animal Rescue was awarded a Kong grant on Dec. 8, 2023, and received approximately $418 worth of Kong toys!
Our South Carolina rescue campus has 70 kennels used to house dogs waiting for transport to Virginia. While our staff is dedicated to walking each eligible animal twice a day, it is not enough to keep our dogs occupied throughout the day.
Being a recipient of the Kong Toy Grant award by the Petfinder Foundation has helped ensure a high quality of life for the dogs staying in our kennels. We find Kong toys to be one of the most indestructible and versatile enrichment items available.
Our staff and volunteers have found creative ways to use this donation. We have stuffed them with traditional things such as peanut butter and canned dog food, but have also created fun things to use such as doggie ice cream, cubed apples, Greek yogurt, and frozen liver bites.
Puppies in our care who are not fully vaccinated follow a strict quarantine until we know they have the immunity they need to leave their kennels without fear of contracting parvovirus or other communicable diseases. This makes keeping them entertained and enriched challenging. Kongs have provided a safe and easy way for our staff and volunteers to keep these guys entertained. Kongs are easily cleanable and we can sanitize them before reusing them.
How many pets did this grant help?
480
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Foxy (first photo) is a 3-year-old hound mix who was found on the side of the road with a shattered pelvis. The treatment for a shattered pelvis is strict cage rest with controlled leash-walking only for approximately six to eight weeks.
Being able to provide her with a variety of Kongs throughout her stay has been an important part of her treatment plan here at the campus, helping to ensure her mental needs are being met as well as her physical needs. It has had the added benefit of helping her gain weight, too! Foxy is still waiting for her forever home. You can meet Foxy here.
Keeley and Kara (together in the second photo; Keeley is in the third photo) are both 6-week-old puppies waiting out their quarantine. They were found on the side of the road, fending for themselves at only 5 weeks old. A good Samaritan brought them into a nearby shelter, where Lucky Dog stepped in to keep them safe. As they are just babies and only have one vaccine so far, extra precautions are taken to keep them safe. They have a great time when they get Kongs to play with!
