Lending Paws a Hand: Dog Field Trip/Short-Term Fostering Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
We had recently started our dog field trip program, Tails on Trails, and were lacking equipment and additional supplies to make this program a success for the humans participating as well as the dogs.
Through this grant, we were able to purchase hiking bags with our logo for our walkers/hikers, "Adopt Me" leash bands, harnesses, seat-belt safety tethers, treat bags, dog water bottles, and martingale collars to keep our dogs safe. The supplies purchased through this grant led to the recruitment of five new volunteer walkers and enabled us to walk more dogs, especially the more hyper ones, regularly because we had the right equipment to do so.
One of our long-term dogs, Xena, now goes out with walkers frequently and her behavior and leash skills have improved dramatically. We are hopeful she will find the right home soon.
How many pets did this grant help?
We expect that this grant will help at least 25 pets throughout the year.
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Harper (first and second photos) came into our care recently as a dog who was set to be euthanized at the local county shelter.
She was a ball of energy and had no previous leash skills. One of our volunteers with the Tails on Trails program started taking Harper out on walks and even took her on several adventures out to local community areas such breweries and Lowes.
Harper’s leash skills dramatically improved AND she was able to adapt further to busy environments and car rides! She currently has an application pending due to a couple passing her on a Tails on Trails walk, and we are hopeful the applicant will be a match for her! You can meet Harper here.
Xena (photos 3-5) is another one of our success stories due to Tails on Trails. Xena is a very energetic, fun-loving girl who benefits from regular walks.
Xena’s current foster is older, and due to Xena’s strength, the foster could not take her out on walks or get good pictures of her for her profile. Because we were able to purchase better equipment such as no-pull harnesses, Xena was able to go out on Tails on Trails walks with some of our younger volunteers who could handle her strength and energy.
Xena’s behavior started improving significantly when she was able to release some of her energy on walks and runs and we were able to get some great photos of her to update her Petfinder profile.
We and our dogs will be forever grateful to the Petfinder Foundation for this grant funding. It has truly made a difference for our pets and our community. You can meet Xena here.
