Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter: Dog Field Trip/Short-Term Fostering Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
This grant allowed us to safely expand our canine enrichment and Hiking Hounds programs by ensuring our dogs and handlers have access to appropriate, reliable equipment. With the purchase of properly fitted collars, harnesses, sturdy leashes, and ID tags, we are able to safely bring dogs out of the shelter for decompression walks and hikes while minimizing risk and ensuring each dog can be quickly identified if needed. Having dependable equipment also improves handler confidence and control, which is especially important for larger or high-energy dogs.
The additional supplies, including treat pouches, collapsible water bowls, cooling gear, and portable first-aid kits, allow staff and trained volunteers to safely extend outings while prioritizing each dog’s physical health and comfort. These tools allow us to reinforce calm behavior, build leash skills, and provide dogs with structured opportunities to engage with their environment outside of the kennel.
These outings are more than exercise; they play a critical role in reducing kennel stress and improving overall welfare. Many dogs show measurable improvements in behavior, stress levels, and adoptability after participating in regular enrichment outings. This grant directly supports our ability to provide those experiences safely and consistently, improving quality of life while helping prepare dogs for successful placement into adoptive homes.
How many pets did this grant help?
In 2025, we cared for just under 2,800 dogs and anticipate similar intake this year. Our Hiking Hounds program serves a significant portion of that population, particularly dogs who benefit from decompression outside the kennel. Because the gear is reusable and rotated among participants, this grant will support hundreds, if not more than a thousand, dogs throughout the year.
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Our Hiking Hounds program supports a large number of dogs each season, particularly those struggling with kennel stress or needing help building confidence outside the shelter environment. While many dogs benefit from this program, Madonna and Cher stand out.
These young heeler-mix siblings came to us as strays with no known background. We quickly identified severe codependent behaviors consistent with littermate syndrome: distress when separated, limited independent confidence, and difficulty engaging without relying on one another. Helping them build social skills and independence within a shelter setting was challenging.
Through Hiking Hounds, they were able to spend structured time outdoors with separate handlers, allowing each dog to explore, problem-solve, and build confidence on her own while still sharing positive moments together. That experience gave them opportunities we cannot replicate inside a kennel environment.
Both Madonna and Cher were adopted. We believe the independence and confidence they began developing on those hikes played an important role in preparing them for a successful transition into their forever home.
