Doggie Day Out program helps shelter dogs find forever homes
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Doggie Day Out program helps shelter dogs find forever homes
Reporter Helaina Stovin: No need to be scared. Big Poppa just wants another treat. Just over a month ago, Humane CNY Animal Shelter in Liverpool, New York, started their Doggie Day Out program, a new effort to reduce how long dogs are in their care.
Stovin: Anyone over the age of 21 can visit the shelter, fill out some paperwork and have their chance of spending the day with a waggy tail and a smiling face. The shelter says this idea that they had did more than just get a couple people through the door.
Executive Director Maureen Davison: That next morning I woke up to over a hundred emails of people interested. So it started off very quickly and it continues. And one of our staff members did a TikTok and from there I probably got about 50 more emails from SU students.
Stovin: Humane CNY says the response exceeded expectations, and so did the results.
Maureen Davison: We had about five dogs that we were sending with whoever came in and all of them got adopted quickly.
Stovin: The goal of this program is to shine a light on all the furry friends still waiting for a home. But for Humane CNY it is the individual stories, stories like Bertha’s, that really bring that mission to life.
Kennel Attendant Emma Killian: Bertha is the sweetest girl ever. She deserves a home just as much as the other animals do.
Stovin: Bertha has been at the shelter since September and is still on the hunt for a home. For those wondering, Bertha declined the opportunity to comment. Killian notes however that while the dogs are seeing most of the effects, the surrounding staff are also seeing the “pawsitive” impact
Emma Killian: This program was extremely beneficial not only for the dogs but having this Doggie Day Out program brings more people into want to volunteer more, just daily tasks that we need so much assistance with because it never ends at an animal shelter.
Stovin: With the program’s success continues to grow, Humane CNY proves that sometimes all it takes is one day out to change a dog’s life “fur-ever.” Helaina Stovin, NCC News.
Stovin: Do you wanna be on camera? Is that your true passion?
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) — If you are ever driving down West Taft Road, be on the lookout for some smiling faces and tails that never stop wagging. HumaneCNY Animal Shelter, located in Liverpool, NY, recently started its brand new “Doggie Day Out” program. In recent years, Executive Director Maureen Davison said animal surrenders and length of stays in shelters are unfortunately at an all-time high. Therefore, in an effort to get these dogs into forever homes, the shelter is allowing anyone over the age of 21 to come in and take a dog out for the day.
All you have to do is sign some paperwork, and you are granted the opportunity to hang out with a friendly face from about 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This was just an idea that Davison had to try and help these animals, so she and her staff made their way to social media, posting on Instagram, Facebook and even TikTok to get this message out to the community. The following day, it was quite clear that the community got the message.
“That next morning, I woke up to over a hundred emails of people interested,” she said. “So it started off very quickly, and it continues. And one of our staff members did a TikTok, and from there, I probably got about 50 more emails from SU students.”
HumaneCNY received an overwhelming response from people of all ages who were interested in taking out a dog. However, if it was not already going great for the shelter, Davison said the results so far surely get them over that hump.
“We had about five dogs that we were sending with whoever came in and all of them got adopted quickly,” she said.
While the success of HumaneCNY in just over a month is nothing short of impressive, not every dog has found their match yet. Bertha, better known as “Big Bertha,” a pittie-mix, is still on the search for her forever home. This snuggle pup has been at the shelter since September, and Kennel Attendant Emmal Killian said Bertha is ready for her happy ending.
“Bertha is the sweetest girl ever,” she said. “She deserves a home just as much as the other animals do.”
Killian said Bertha is the best couch potato if you want to lie around all day and do nothing, but she’ll put her hiking shoes on if you’re the type of person to go outside and be active. While Bertha declined the opportunity to comment, Killian noted that she does like to be the only dog in the house, to soak up all the attention, of course.
This program has made grand strides since its inception, and the bulk of the benefits are going to the dogs. However, Killian said that it is also the surrounding staff who are seeing the “pawsitive” impacts.
“This program was extremely beneficial not only for the dogs but having this Doggie Day Out program brings more people into want to volunteer more,” she said. “Just daily tasks that we need so much assistance with because it never ends at an animal shelter.”
Anyone interested in learning more about the program, or wanting some more information on Bertha can check out HumaneCNY.org. The program plans to continue to offer “Doggie Day Outs” through the winter as well as find other creative ways to get their furry friends noticed and loved. Humane CNY proves that sometimes all it takes ,is one day out to change a dog’s life “fur-ever.”