DeKalb Humane Society: Dog Field Trip/Short-Term Fostering Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
The DeKalb Humane Society’s pets have had a great time getting out into the community and engaging with community members. With the Petfinder Foundation grant, we purchased “Adopt Me” vests (sixth photo), leashes, DeKalb Humane Society backpacks (seventh photo), on-the-go water bowls, and business cards to hand out to inquiring individuals we meet in the community when the dogs are on their field trips.
The brightly colored “Adopt Me” vests and the red backpacks our volunteers and dogs wear when out in the community make our dogs easily identifiable and more approachable. We are then able to engage the public in conversation, telling them about the DeKalb Humane shelter and promote adoptions. Meeting people and interacting in public with people helps the dogs learn about social settings and lets people get to know the dog better outside of a shelter experience.
Our dogs have participated in some unique events in Northeast Indiana in 2023. They were featured in Fort Wayne Ballet’s Nutcracker as the “muttcrackers.” This was an on-stage opportunity for the dogs with a meet-and-greet afterwards. They raised money for the shelter at the Dog Days of Summer event at a local winery. The DeKalb Humane Society was asked to participate in the first ever Tails, Ales & Rails event (fourth photo) put on by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, which was a fundraiser for the DeKalb Humane Society and Community Humane Shelter of Steuben County.
How many pets did this grant help?
This grant has already aided in 10 adoptions in the last few months. We are excited to see how our Doggie Day Out program will take off in 2024.
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
The Doggie Day Out program has been so successful! It has gotten dogs out of the shelter for a short time, giving them a break and some love. We have such great volunteers who love our dogs immensely.
These outings are so good for the dogs’ well-being, and it shows in their behavior. Thor (first photo) was able to hang out with a family for most of the day in their home, giving him the simple pleasures of a home.
Jane (second photo) and Phoenix both got out on the town away from the shelter for a while and they enjoyed their day immensely.
Tillie (third photo) went on an outing to the farmer’s market to practice her training. This is making Tillie so much more adoptable.
Scooby (fifth photo) was a very shy and reserved dog, but after going out on several Doggie Day Out trips, he actually let a strange man pet him. This was such a huge feat for Scooby.
Madelyn (sixth photo) went on a visit to a school to meet with the children who were raising money for the DeKalb Humane shelter. She was such a good girl with the kids.
All of the dogs mentioned have been adopted and we know the benefits from the Doggie Day Out program enabled those adoptions to happen.
