Easy Street Animal Shelter: KONG Toys Grant Report

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

We received a selection of Kong toys for the dogs at our facility. Over the past months, we have filled the Kongs with peanut butter and placed them in the freezer and given them to each of the dogs each day. The dogs were able to eat the peanut butter and play with the Kongs in their kennels to help keep them occupied. Kongs were also available for play in the yards, and some dogs would play fetch with volunteers while others enjoyed playing keep-away from their playmates or even tossed the Kongs around on their own.

We saw a number of animals who had not shown much of a play drive become excited for the toys each day, and many demonstrated playful behavior. Dogs were given filled Kongs (sometimes frozen) each day after being out in the play area. The dogs had Kong time during the day when it was hot and overnight when they may have been bored. We did see a decrease in the boredom-chewing of the dogs' beds and houses. The increased activity the dogs would engage in with the Kongs during play-yard time helped them to be more active.

How many pets did this grant help?

39 dogs have entered our facility since the shipment of Kongs arrived.

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

One dog, Winky (first photo), came in as an owner-surrender. Her family was upset that they had not brought her toys and said she loved playing with chew toys. We received the shipment of Kongs shortly after she arrived and she was brought into the office to check them out. She was so excited and couldn’t decide which one to play with first. She was adopted shortly after we got her.

Another of our dogs, a brindle Plott hound named Tracie (second photo), has been with us for nine months. She was heartworm-positive upon arrival and was kept quiet during treatment. She is now ready for adoption and loves playing catch, fetch, hide-the-Kong and keep-away with the other dogs in the play yard. Meet Tracie here.

Rebecca (third photo), a brindle pit mix, loves playing with Kongs and tosses them around herself if no one is around to do it for her. Meet Rebecca here.