Humane Society of Summit County: Dog Enrichment Grant Report

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

Thanks to the generous $1,000 grant from the Petfinder Foundation, we were able to introduce scent-based enrichment and training to several of our shelter dogs. These activities have reduced stress, provided mental stimulation, and encouraged natural canine behaviors, helping dogs build confidence and become more adoptable.

How many pets did this grant help?

15

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

The first photo shows Surfer after some scent work. We have a video of her rolling in a fresh lavender scent, which is naturally calming to dogs and helps with stress in their kennel. We will often put it on blankets, toys, or bandanas that the dogs can wear to naturally calm them.

In her picture you can see how excited and happy she looks. That was after a session of sniffing the squirrel scent, which naturally elicits their desire to track animal scents. We have containers where we store the scents or put the scents outside so they can follow the scent and track down a trail of enriching scents. After they explore our different smells, you can visibly see a dog’s stress decrease once they’ve gotten to use their nose to discover so much information about the world surrounding them.

Surfer has not been adopted yet, but the scent enrichment ensures she shows well and remains calm while she waits for her forever home! You can meet her here. here.