By Sarah Bradham | Project POOCH Executive Director
“Project POOCH is such an amazing opportunity to grow, learn, and hang out with dogs; and be the change in not just people but in animals, too.”
–POOCH Youth
Our year started off with significant challenges, as we faced both a wind and ice storm in January. Tops to our outdoor enclosures ripped, pipes froze and burst—there was a lot of clean up to do.
But with challenge comes opportunity, and we saw our youth rise to the occasion and work as a team to get POOCH back into operational mode and ensure the pups were well cared for.
During the spring and summer months, the overflowing shelter crisis came toour doors. Adoptions were non-existent for 4 months, while surrenders were high. We took in two special case owner surrenders (Rosie & Simba), had a pup abandoned at our Lake Oswego office (Cliff), and took in a POOCH pup initially adopted in 2013 when his owner became too sick to care for him. At one point, we were full-to-bursting with 8 POOCH pups as well as a full roster of boarding dogs. While challenging, it was an excellent opportunity for our youth to experience managing a very busy kennel while ensuring all the dogs’ physical and mental needs were met, and still fitting in time for training (and snuggles!).
Moving into the fall, our adoptions picked up as summer vacations came to
a close and families started to look for their furry companions once again.
Spirits both lifted and lowered as we adopted our pups into their forever
homes. The youth always love to see the pups find their families, but it is also hard to say goodbye to the dogs they have come to know and love. There is a lot of growth that comes from saying goodbye, in a healthy and positive way—a skill that many of our youth are learning for the first time.
One Youth’s POOCH Journey
As I sit back and look at what we accomplished this year, I’d like to share one youth’s journey through POOCH, as I feel it perfectly encapsulates what we strive to achieve in our program. Dave (pseudonym) started at POOCH in late 2023. At just 18 years old, he had been in and out of corrections for several years. When he started at Project POOCH, he immediately threw himself into the work. He quickly became one of our most dependable workers, building solid relationships with his staff team and his peers. But it was with the pups that Dave’s personality truly shone.
He worked hard to learn dog body language and put that knowledge to use as he trained the pups. He took pride in his ability to get pups to take their meds, especially the picky pups. If a dog was difficult to get out of a kennel in the morning, Dave was the go-to guy. He would work every day at POOCH if he could. Dave loved working with the dogs, hanging out with them, and caring for them. There were a couple of months where he and another youth competed to see who could put in the most hours—they ended up tying at 230 hours. His smile lit up the room when we told him he had clocked the highest number of hours ever in a single month at POOCH.
Dave didn’t come from the best home life. He lived with a lack of stability and many other challenges from the time he came into the world. At POOCH we celebrate our youth’s birthdays with simple treats, such as cupcakes, cheesecake, and their favorite, Takis. We gather the team together and sing Happy Birthday. On Dave’s birthday, after we sang, he told his team that no one had ever sung Happy Birthday to him. And with tears in his eyes, he disappeared out the door and went to hug a dog.
At Project POOCH youth learn patience, responsibility, and compassion through their work with the POOCH pups. We also provide them with a sense of community and family. Together, we help them grow and change, to set them on a course to becoming successful and caring community members.
Please help us continue this impactful work by making a contribution to Project POOCH today. Your donations directly support young men and shelter dogs in your community. Together, we can make a difference.
“Project POOCH has provided some of the most beautiful times in my life and taught me so much. POOCH allowed me to grow and thrive in a very safe, caring, and important place.” –Dave* (POOCH Youth)
2024 Highlights (as of Nov. 15, 2024)
Check out the PDF link to learn more about our accomplishments from this year and to read about all of our adopted pups.
Thank you for your support!
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By Sarah Bradham | Executive Director
By Sarah Bradham | Executive Director
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