Associated Humane Societies: Orvis Dog Enrichment Grant Report

How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?

The Orvis Dog Enrichment Grant helped provide enrichment toys for the dogs in our care as well as provide training to our kennel staff. AHS-Newark faces some of the greatest numbers of cruelty cases in New Jersey. Our dogs often come in scared, abused, and malnourished. We were able to purchase brand new Frisbees and carabiners and keep a stockpile of peanut butter to help alleviate the stress of our dogs in their kennels.

How many pets did this grant help?

1,314

Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.

Part of our enrichment program for the dogs in our care is to put peanut butter on a Frisbee and clip the Frisbee to the front of their kennel. The dogs are then able to lick away the peanut butter and focus on their enrichment, rather than continuously stressing themselves out in their kennels. Although our staff puts their max effort into caring for each individual animal to ensure they’re as comfortable as possible, the additional enrichment items help alleviate the fear and anxiety of being in a shelter.