Athens Animal Rescue Shelter: Dog Enrichment Grant Report

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

With the Dog Enrichment Grant, Athens Animal Rescue Shelter was able to purchase agility equipment for the dogs to use in the play yards during their yard time. It has started to not just provide alternate ways for us to offer physical stimulation for the dogs, but has also added a layer of mental stimulation for them. We have noticed that our dogs who spend time working on the agility course are more tired and relaxed in their kennels, and it has been wonderful to see them feeling fulfilled for the day!

How many pets did this grant help?

1,500

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

One of our pups who was born here and has been with us for 18 weeks and was the last one of his litter was our first dog to test out the new equipment. He just recently started getting to go into the yard after being fully vaccinated.

Our staff worked with him for 30 minutes and he began jumping over the hurdles and going through the agility poles on his own. It was amazing to see how smart and determined he was to figure it out and didn’t let the fear of the unknown deter him.

Not only has the new equipment helped provide the dogs with additional activities, but it has also given our staff something to work for and be proud of when they can say their student has mastered the course!