As you know, at Project POOCH, Inc., we teach the youth in the program patience, kindness, respect, and compassion for all life. That lesson is not lost on the dogs whose lives they save. One such dog is also making a life-saving difference for pups whose lives hang in the balance….
Fenway is a beloved POOCH alum who visits Project POOCH often. He’s a delightfully energetic and happy dog who hikes with his mom regularly, though he never seems to tire no matter how many miles they log!
Fenway’s future wasn’t always so bright…
…until he was found by Project POOCH.
When our executive director first found Fenway, he was cowering, head down in a corner at an area shelter. She learned he’d been a stray, wandering the streets of a town in Oregon. He was having difficulty being adopted because he was shut down and depressed, but she saw the love and soulfulness in his eyes and knew he’d be a great candidate for our program.
Fenway's confidence grows...
During his stay with us, as he gained his confidence, we realized he was a happy, high energy dog who had difficulty calming down and focusing—behaviors that require patience and time to overcome. The youth worked with Fenway, teaching him his basic commands, helping him to be more focused and calm, and ultimately taking him through the successful completion of his Canine Good Citizen Certification!
We knew, once his mom, a longtime POOCH volunteer, met him, it would be love at first sight! What a great team they make!
Fenway becomes a superhero...
Together, they serve as wonderful ambassadors in the community. So, when his mom told us Fenway had become a doggie blood donor for a local emergency animal hospital, we were not all that surprised, and we were very proud. He’s using everything he learned at Project POOCH about being a well-mannered, loving and trusting pooch, and giving back to other dogs in need. It takes a calm and patient dog to sit for the 30 minutes necessary to donate blood!
There are over a dozen blood group systems recognized for dogs. That makes each doggie blood donor like Fenway even more critical to the success of the hospital’s life-saving efforts.
For the next two years, Fenway and his mom will be making regular visits to donate blood. His life was saved by the staff and youth at Project POOCH, and now he is paying it forward by saving the lives of other pooches.
Fenway is definitely a superhero in our book!
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When you support Project POOCH, your gift goes so much farther than the brick and mortar of our facility. Every day the youth make choices that reflect the lessons of compassion and respect they’ve been taught. Every day, they make the choice to make the world a better, safer, more humane place, and help dogs like Fenway do the same. THANK YOU for showing compassion to these youth and dogs who are striving to build better and brighter futures.
We hope you’ll consider making another life-saving gift to our project, Change the Lives of Troubled Youth & Shelter Dogs, on Wednesday, March 18th, between 6 am and 9 pm Pacific Time during GlobalGiving’s Bonus Day. Gifts will be matched at 30% until the $60,000 in matching funds run out.
Links:
A few months ago, we shared Rusty’s story of patience, hope, and perseverance. Well, we thought we'd share with you an update we received about his life today so you could see firsthand the life-saving impact of your donations.
As you may remember, Rusty was with us for about three years before he found his forever home through Project POOCH, Inc.® He had some special requirements for his new home since he didn't get along with small animals.
We never gave up on him… …And he kept believing in us.
Today, Rusty is a pampered pooch who is adored by his family. Something we believe - and we know you agree - should be true for EVERY dog.
Rusty is one of the lucky ones YOU helped. Thanks to your generous support, Rusty enjoys yoga with his mom, goes on fun adventures, and just enjoys the happy life.
Rusty no longer has to wonder when his new family will walk through the door and take him home. He is home... and he is loved.
From Rusty’s mom:
“Well, it's been almost a year now that Rob and I have had Rusty in our home. He's doing really well. Thank you for all your hard work!”
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THANK YOU for bringing joy to Rusty and his family. THANK YOU for ensuring Project POOCH, Inc.®, will be able to continue to help the youth at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility as they help homeless dogs like Rusty find their forever homes... ...No matter how long it takes.
What a great way to start the new year!
-From the youth, dogs, staff, volunteers, and Board at Project POOCH, Inc.®
Links:
This beautiful girl was found wandering the streets as a stray: This beautiful, large (72 pound) Chocolate Lab had been found as a stray in 2007. The animal control driver scooped the Lab up and delivered her to a local Humane Society where she was assessed. She was determined to be one year of age, unspayed, no identification,and in need of treatment for kennel cough. As her health improved, the shelter performed a temperament test and noted: very shy and unsure of strangers. The staff named her Sasha.
Sasha finds her way to Project POOCH and gets a fresh start: A month later, Sasha was transferred to Project POOCH and became known as Lady. She was taken to be spayed, microchipped, vaccinated, and dewormed. She weighed in at 62 pounds.
Lady's Project POOCH handler trained her to pass the Canine Good Citizen test, walked her several times a day, played with her, brushed her teeth every day, and gave her a weekly massage. Lady soon lost her shyness and demonstrated her love of people.
A couple falls in love with Lady: Then a couple came to meet her to consider adoption. They filled out the application and answered the question: Why do you wish to adopt a dog from Project POOCH. "We lost our dog of 14 years together and we are missing the kind of relationship you can have with a dog buddy. We also support the ideals and goals of Project POOCH."
Since home visits are required for our dogs, a day and time was scheduled for Lady to be taken on a car ride 150 miles away in hopes it would be the forever home she deserved. Her handler/trainer gave her a bath followed by a fragrant conditioner before saying goodbye. He had packed Lady's "going home" suitcase with several day’s food, a favorite toy, and one of her blankets. The final touch was a beautiful color coordinated scarf around her neck.
Our executive director was the designated driver and she knew it was often difficult for a dog's handler/trainer to say goodbye so she made a practice of turning away so the youth could have some privacy as he loaded his dog into the vehicle and said his goodbyes.
Two weeks later, a letter from the adopters came to Lady's handler/trainer:
“Dear Mykel,
Lady has now been with us for two weeks and after the first two hours, we had fallen in love with her. We thank you for all the training and care you gave her. We take her for a 30-40 minute walk each morning and then a rousing game of fetch. We keep her bedding clean and nice and she doesn't chew it.
When she is in the back yard and spots a squirrel, she goes into the most beautiful stance and very seldom barks which our neighbors appreciate. In the evening we all sit out on the patio so Lady can get affection and listen to us talk about the day.
She has a very attractive quality--she doesn't beg for food. Our goal is to insist that guests respect her good behavior and not wreck her training by giving her food off their plates. Lady would like to help me type on the computer and change my bad spelling but hers is worse. We take breaks every 45 minutes and go outside for a ball game.
Around 8 or 9 at night Lady and I go for another walk. The mild summer evenings are so delightful and to share them with Lady is a wonderful way to end the day.
Our life with Lady is marvelous and we deeply appreciate the love, talent and time that you have invested in her. We look forward to many years together and we know we wouldn't have this wonderful dog in our life if it wasn't for you, your colleagues, and the Project POOCH people.
With gratefulness--Lady and her family"
Fast forward six years: Lady needs yet another leash on life as her family gives her up.
Project POOCH is there for her.
Six years later, we received an owner surrender form from the family. The question: Why are you surrendering your dog? "I have moved to another state for work. I have not been able to secure suitable housing for Lady. She has been living with my daughter who is unable to care for her."
Another question Project POOCH asked: How often does your dog get walked on a leash? The answer: RARELY.
Lady’s family had given up on her and no longer cared for her.
Lady was soon brought to Project POOCH by the adopter's son. She weighed in at 93 pounds! He handed us the leash and walked away.
It was heartbreaking…
…to have Lady returned after six years but we decided to put her on a strict diet and make sure she got the exercise she needed to burn off calories.
Brian, Lady’s new handler, took the task of getting Lady back in shape as a serious goal.
Her previous handler had left corrections so Lady got a new handler. He began keeping a diary in which one of the entries is as follows: “We have just returned from our morning walk. Lady and I enjoyed a slow jog around the perimeter of the upfront units. You can notice a considerable difference in her behavior and demeanor when she is exhausted from exercise, which makes me feel the need to take her out even more so. For the duration of my stay at Project POOCH today, I will brush her teeth and fur, clean out her ears, and give her a bath.”
Lady’s luck turns around! Little by little, Lady began losing the extra weight. Four months after Lady came back to Project POOCH, she was at her goal weight of 60 lbs., and a couple with another older Labrador Retriever came to look at Lady for a possible adoption.
Lady went right to them and let their other dog do a brief sniff test to make sure the two dogs were compatible. Everyone stood around with the fingers crossed behind their backs. When the family said: We would like to adopt Lady it was a happy day.
Lady finds her 3rd and FOREVER home! The day of the home visit came very soon because Lady had passed the Canine Good Citizen test. A week after the adoption, we received an email which read: “Lady is settling in just fine. Yesterday she was sunbathing on the back deck and today she sat on the front porch where I watered our hanging baskets. She has decided she doesn't need to jump in the pond anymore and the trips to the beach suit her just fine. She and our other dog get along great.”
Recently we received another update and photo of Lady on Facebook in response to a photo we posted of her in a campaign to raise funds through GlobalGiving. She is a much loved and integral member of her now forever family: “This is our Lady dog! We're happy to be celebrating our one-year anniversary of adopting Lady! She's happy laying out on our deck, meeting new friends at the dog park and playing chuck-it. And she really loves going to the beach! Thanks Project POOCH for our special dog.”
Her new family is thrilled Lady is theirs! Three times really is a charm!
Every day the dogs in our care is working with the young men in our program. Together, they are striving to be the best versions of themselves they can be. Your donations are critical to their ability to build the relationships necessary to their success; and to providing the support, resources, guidance, and training they need to prosper and thrive no matter how many times it takes. We hope you'll consider making a gift on GlobalGiving's Bonus Day, Wednesday, October 15th, between 6am and 9pm Pacific Time. Your gift could be matched at 30% and will give a dog like Lady the extra chance at a forever home and a youth the opportunity to make that chance happen!! THANK YOU!
