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.
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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!
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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."
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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.
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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.
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PUPDATE: AVRIL
It's an age-old question, do we rescue dogs, or do they rescue us? Today, we would like to share a pupdate on Avril, an appx. 1-year-old pup who was at Project POOCH early this year. She came to us from Marion County Dog Services and, through her time at Project POOCH, had the time and space to build trust with humans, work on her anxiety, and learn some basic cues.
“Avril has changed my life so much. Some days I don’t know that I would leave the house if it weren’t for her. Everyone responds to her sweetness and beauty; thirteen year old boys on skateboards shout, “I love your dog!” as they roll by. Grocery store checkers, security guards, and bridge toll workers love to give her treats. Drivers back up to let us cross the street and I have conversations with people about their own dogs a lot now.
When I got her, I was thinking she would cheer me up but it doesn’t quite work that way. She’s extremely sensitive to my moods—if I’m particularly upset, I notice she’s sometimes sick to her stomach the next morning so I’ve learned to better regulate my moods. This has actually helped me temper my emotions. We have a regular round trip we take to the beach; it’s a five mile walk and I’m sure I wouldn’t do it so often but for Avril. She’s been crucial to my mental and physical health throughout an incredibly difficult time in my life. She brings me joy and hope and I want to thank you all, but especially the young man who did such an exceptional job of caring for her and training her.”
Project POOCH: Win-Win-Win
2022 Highlights
Thank you for helping Project POOCH continue to provide life-changing opportunities to incarcerated youth, shelter dogs, adopters, and our community.
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We have had a busy summer at Project POOCH, with many projects taking place inside and outside the kennel. We currently have five youth and five dogs in the program, with the youth teaching the dogs their basic cues, including sit, stay, down, and walk on a loose leash. We continue to manage through the challenges of COVID, which have limited the number of youth and dogs we can have in the program. Despite these limitations, we strive to make a BIG impact on everyone we come in contact with—youth participants, POOCH pups, and our community. We want to thank you for believing in and supporting our mission and being an integral part of our POOCH community. Here's a quick update on a few things we have been up to over the last few months.
Outdoor Enclosures
Our youth were overjoyed to see a delivery truck arrive with our new outdoor enclosures on a warm summer morning in mid-July. The youth quickly sprung into action, unboxing the enclosures and assembling them in the main yard. These outdoor enclosures are a critical part of the process of caring for the dogs. When the youth arrive at the kennel, each indoor/outdoor dog run needs to be cleaned and sanitized in the morning. This process requires that the dog are removed from their kennel. Over the winter, two of our outdoor enclosures were damaged in heavy storms, and we were down to one outdoor space. By replacing the two damaged enclosures, we again had three outdoor spaces for the dogs to hang out while their indoor/outdoor runs were cleaned. Once the enclosures were assembled, the youth wasted no time sharing the new spaces with the pups. Residents Faith and Cali were the first two to give them a test run and gave them an enthusiastic "paws-up!"
Faith
Faith came to Project POOCH as a stray from another local shelter. Faith is approximately 3 years old and has clearly never experienced being on a leash. When the youth tried to get her leashed up to go on a walk, she expressed her displeasure in every way she could, leading to a very frustrating experience for her and the youth. We tried a flat collar, a Gentle Leader, and a harness to no avail. We brought in a different dog trainer to assess the situation to see if they could come up with a different approach. The new trainer had a one-on-one session with Faith and her handler and decided to try using a clicker in Faith's training. Faith and her handler immediately took to this method, and we have seen a dramatic improvement over the past month! Faith is now walking on a flat collar, and she and her handler are enjoying their walks. Training is not one-size-fits-all—what works for one dog may not work for another. We are committed to working with our pups to find the approach that "clicks" for them to help set every one of them up for success.
Dog Wash
On August 13, we hosted one of our favorite events of the year—our Annual Dog Wash! From NOON to 4 p.m. at Stickmen Brewing in Tualatin we scrubbed pups of all sizes while their pawrents enjoyed pizza and pints. From tiny chihuahuas to newfies, our volunteers were hard at work, and we saw some former POOCH pups come through the lineup. One of our former youth, who left MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in 2019, volunteered his time to help with setup and greeting attendees. He was excited to give back to the program that had helped him develop responsibility, patience, and compassion during his time at MacLaren. He's hoping to come back to MacLaren in a few years as a visitor to help recruit youth into the program by sharing his story.
Agility Center
Our Agility Center flooring has been in dire need of replacement. The old flooring was interlocking green foam pieces, and the foam was breaking down and turning the pups—and EVERYTHING that came in contact with it—Wicked Witch of the West Green! We spent the month of August cleaning the Agility Center, removing the old flooring, and giving everything a good scrub to make way for the new rubber flooring. The flooring was delivered last week, and the installation will take place in September.
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Project POOCH is off to a great start for 2022. With the reduction in COVID cases we are now able to return to more normal operations which allows for us to serve more youth and more pups!
Youth
The COVID pandemic has provided challenges for the entire world, and we are no exception. To limit the spread of the virus there were strict protocols in place at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility, which limited the number of youth we could have working at the kennel as well as it limited our ability to bring in our professional dog trainer to work with the youth and the dogs. With the precautions eased, we can now better serve our community. Through April 2022:
Dogs
Now that we have more youth in the program, we are able to have more dogs at our kennel, which is helping more dogs find their forever homes. Through April 2022:
Events
We are getting back out into the community to share our mission and raise much needed funds for Project POOCH. We are excited to engage with our community! Upcoming Events:
Thanks to a generous donor, all donations received through any platform up to $4,000 are being matched! You can donate on GlobalGiving today or directly through our website to have your impact doubled! (https://pooch.org/give/)
We greatly appreciate your support to help us change the lives of troubled youth and shelter dogs. It's YOU who makes our work possible.
Thank you,
Sarah Bradham
Executive Director, Project POOCH
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