Animal Welfare United States Project #4729

Change the Lives of Troubled Youth & Shelter Dogs

by Project Pooch, Inc.

Change the Lives of Troubled Youth & Shelter Dogs

Project Report | Aug 24, 2023
August 2023: POOCH Update

By Sarah Bradham | Executive Director

Dear Project POOCH Supporter,

It has been a wonderful and BUSY summer at Project POOCH! We temporarily PAWSed (get it?) our operations from February through May as we made some major updates to our facility and our program. We were ecstatic to restart in June with a modern and clean kennel, five dogs, and 7 youth ready and willing to learn.

Our facility updates were driven by our need to meet the Association for Shelter Veterinarian (ASV) Guidelines for Shelter Care. We update our flooring to be all solid surface so it could be effectively cleaned. We replaced particle board furniture with stainless steel rolling racks so that could be easily moved and cleaned. We updated to industry standard cleaning products for our kennel which ensures our pups stay healthy and that our youth learn current best practices of kennel management. We installed solid surface tops to our kennels to make sure our pups stay safe, added two outdoor enclosures to speed our morning cleaning process, and installed a new tub that is lower to the ground and has a ramp for entry to it is less stressful for the dogs. Next month, we are installing sound-dampening panels to help reduce the noise in the kennel and reduce the stress level for the dogs.

We also trained all of our staff in the Fear Free Shelter management program and are bringing this same program to our youth, so they have the opportunity to learn a nationally recognized curriculum for care for shelter animals. We love the Fear Free Shelter curriculum, because it is all about focusing on reducing Fear, Anxiety, Stress, and Frustration in the dogs based on how you operate your kennel. It also aligns well with the trauma-informed care principles we use in how we work with our youth, providing a noticeable benefit to everyone involved in our program.

We are seeing all of our investment in updating our facility and program pay off with an engaged group of youth who are quickly and eagerly learning new skills, and are excited to show up at work each day at the kennel. We trained and adopte 4 dogs over the last couple of months, and just brought in another group of 4 dogs to work with.

Project POOCH provides life-changing opportunities to every youth and dog we come in contact with at our program. We hope you will considering continuing to support our work.

Thank you,

Sarah Bradham

POOCH Youth with Luna

Links:

Permalink

Apr 26, 2023
Milo's Journey: A Happy Beginning

By Sarah Bradham | Executive Director

Milo Goes Home

One month. 30 days and 30 nights. 30 nights sleeping in a big bed with his new dad. 30 days of exploring the big world (on leash, of course), watching ducks, playing with new toys, and enjoying the adoration of so many people. 30 days of living the life that this big, goofy, lovable boy deserves!

This was the happy ending that at time we weren’t sure was going to come. Milo spent two and a half years at Project POOCH, with a few short stints in adoptive homes that didn’t work out. The youth worked diligently with Milo for all of his time with us. Milo demonstrated that he is a smart boy and he learned quickly. But even with all the attention provided to him at POOCH, kennel life is still hard. And 2 1/2 years in a kennel is a long time.

But we never gave up. We never quit on finding Milo the right home for him. And it wasn’t necessarily the home that we thought it was going to be. We started out thinking that Milo needed big open spaces, maybe a farm, a giant backyard, a ton of space to run. But what Milo really needed, was a whole lot of LOVE. Someone who would adore Milo for who he IS, and work with him. Help him adjust to the big world, and know that there are going to be something that aren’t going to be a good fit for Milo (no dog parks for this big boy …).

Enter Troy. He serendipitously showed up on our doorstep. He thought he was looking for a small dog. But, what he really needed was Milo. And what Milo really needed was Troy. The two of them hit it off the moment they met. And the rest is history.

Milo's Journey demonostrates the power of what we do at Project POOCH. The youth learned important skills as they trained and worked with Milo, but I think that the most important life lesson they learned, was that the adults in their life didn't give up on Milo. We didn't give up when he had two failed adoptions. We didn't give up when we had a resource guarding issue when he went into temporary foster care to give him a break from the kennel life. We reached out to behaviorists, and we spent time with Milo, and we listened and we worked to figure out what would be the right home for Milo to flourish.

And we found it. And now Milo gets to live his best life. And Troy gets to have a best buddy. And the youth in our program learn that we won't give up on the dogs when it gets hard, just like we won't give up on them.

Life is a journey, and Milo's is just beginning.

_____________________________________________

We have been on an operational pause the last three months. We have been making significant updates to our facility as well as to our program in order to ensure we are meeting to the Association for Shelter Veterinarian Guidelines for the Care of Shelter Animals. Thanks to generous donations in 2022 we were able to undertake these critical projects that will help the youth and dogs flourish in our program. We can't wait to share with you the outcome of that work. Look for an update next month!

Milo on Bed

Links:

http://pooch.org

Permalink

Dec 28, 2022
Going Home: Olivia's Story

By Sarah Bradham | Executive Director

Olivia arriving in her new home

When you think of home, what comes to mind? On these darkest days of the year, do you think of warmth and light? Maybe a snuggly comforter, good food, or family and friends?

There's something about the holiday season that makes home feel that much more special. Maybe it is the hustle and bustle of the season, or simply the colder temps and limited daylight hours.

On December 22, on a chilly sunny day, a POOCH pup went home. Little Miss Olivia, she of the giant brown eyes, is off to her grandest adventure in her short 10 months of life ... a home of her very own.

On the morning of her adoption, the youth got her all prepped and ready. They carefully packaged up food for her first few days in her new home, along with a brand new leash and collar, a starter kit of poop bags, and a new toy. The youth gave her lots of pets and hugs and wished her well as I loaded her up in a travel crate for her trip to her brand new home.

When we pulled up outside her new home, Olivia was subdued. She has a bit of a nervous tummy, so she was a little wobbly as she disembarked. As we walked to the door, she was cautious, with her tail down and slightly tucked. We were met at the door by Olivia's new person, whom Olivia had already met twice, along with a new big (dog) sister—a built in playmate!

It didn't take long for Olivia to find her confidence. She found the dog toy box and started pulling out toys and testing them out to find a favorite (she settled on a plush lobster). She explored a few rooms and found the new crate that was purchased just for her. Less than 45 minutes later, she was happily entertaining herself by throwing a toy in the air and catching it. Post-active play session, she settled into a plush dog bed with a soft "harumph" and started happily chewing on a dog bone.

As I readied myself to leave, I walked over to say goodbye. I held her head in my hands, looked deep into her hypnotic brown eyes, and whispered to her, "you are home baby girl. Happy trails."

___________________________________________________

Over the next couple of days I received updates from Olivia's new mom. Olivia was settling in well and quickly becoming a part of her new family. She was so complementary of the youth handler who had worked with Olivia over the past few months, and helped prepare her for a home of her own.

___________________________________________________

Project POOCH is a win-win-win-win program. We serve the youth who learn patience, responsibility, and compassion as they work with the dogs. We serve the dogs who need some extra special care and attention to help them on their way to becoming great companions. We serve the people who adopt POOCH pups by helping them find their new family member. And we also serve our community by helping the youth who go through our program grow, and change, and become productive members of society upon release. Now, that's something we can all feel good about supporting.

Thank you for believing in our mission, and for helping us provide life-changing opportunities for incarcerated youth and shelter dogs. We appreciate your support.

Olivia sleeping after a hard day of play

Links:

Permalink

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ... 22 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.