Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter: Play Yard Renovation Grant Report

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

Mud, and digging along the fence lines, have been big issues here at Rivers and Bluffs Animal Shelter. Digging under the fencing created a risk that a dog could getting loose or in a fight with another dog. With the grant money, we were able to place cement under the outside perimeter and under the in-between fences. We also had cement placed in front of all the gates where we had originally laid nomad matting to try to prevent mud. The amount of mud was a slipping hazard for the volunteers and was also creating a lot of clean-up inside the building. Now with the cement, we are hoping that the tracking of mud into the building will lessen, meaning less clean-up and more time spent with the dogs.

How many pets did this grant help?

100

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

We currently have several large dogs at our shelter who are very picky about doggie friends. One of these dogs is Biscotti. Biscotti is a pit mix and is as sweet as can be with our manager and volunteers, although he is very strong. He is not so enamored with a couple of the other dogs in our care.

We like to ensure that the dogs get playtime out in our play areas. We had not been able to put Biscotti next to these other big dogs because of the chance that he could dig under the fence and get to one of them.

With the fencing upgrade, we can now work with Biscotti on his behavior be assured that he cannot get under the fence to other dogs. In addition, the walkway leading to Biscotti’s play area is no longer bumpy and uneven; now it is much safer for our volunteers to move Biscotti in and out of the play area.

Biscotti is still looking for his forever home! You can view his Petfinder bio here.