Last Chance Ranch, Inc.: Dog Enrichment Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
The 2023 Dog Enrichment Grant was utilized to purchase various enrichment items including lick mats and trays, rubber chews, treat-dispensing toys, ball-pit balls, and giggle balls!
We have found that these items significantly help to curb boredom and reduce stress in the kennel. Our staff and volunteers having been working hard since receiving these items to provide dogs, especially long-term residents, with enrichment on a daily basis in a supervised manner. We have been able to establish a weekly enrichment schedule that is easy to follow and complete.
For the past several years, dogs have been remaining in our care for longer periods of time than anticipated. This unfortunately seems to be a growing trend among animal rescues and shelters across the country. This has made our job as animal caretakers even more important, to ensure that the dogs in our care have proper outlets for their stress and boredom.
We are so thankful to be able to get various items to provide a rotating assortment to the dogs. The long-term positive impact has already been seen with many of the dogs in our care.
How many pets did this grant help?
300-400
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Every year we place between 300-400 dogs. Each of these dogs is provided with some type of enrichment during their stay with us (typically a minimum stay of one to two weeks). Specifically, this grant has provided new enrichment items that have been tested out by the following animals, all still available for adoption.
We’re pretty sure Rex (first and second photos) jumped straight out of a cartoon! This boy has been with us since February 2022, after he was found stray by a local police department.
He’s got the best face and ears. He is a brindle-and-white German shepherd mix weighing in at 50 lbs. He is an active young pup who is looking for a dedicated person to keep him busy with training or a sport.
While at LCR, he gets a wide array of enrichment toys, including his daily feeding in toy form to help curb his boredom and provide an appropriate outlet. He is a guy who will out-hike the most avid hiker and is definitely hoping his next adventure starts soon! You can meet Rex here.
Believe it or not, Luna, a lovely spaniel mix (third and fourth photos), has been with us since November 2022! She is active, playful, and would love to go on adventures with your family! She gets along with male dogs but does not like other girls.
Luna can definitely get frustrated in her kennel since she is not always a fan of other dogs. We have found that lick-it mats and toy-dispensing treats really help calm her down. Luna is still looking for her new home! You can meet Luna here.
