Second Chancez for Kidz and Dogz
In June of 2011, N.A.B.S. partnered with Kidz Harbor, a Child Protective Service facility, three miles from The Sanctuary. Three days a week at The Sanctuary they learn responsibility and foster self-esteem as they claim a dog which they work with until the dog has completed our basic obedience requirements. The children can then take on a new dog or move to intermediate or advanced programs. As they gain more experience they can take on more difficult dogs. The children are required to take the dogs on walks, feed them, bathe them, and groom them, along with providing training. The children also assist with chores at The Sanctuary. If they show good behavior they are then rewarded with the freedom to romp with their new best friends on our 330 acre Sanctuary and play with them in our 160,000 square foot lake. These dogs are abandoned and homeless. They all need a fresh start at life and these children can relate to them.
At Petco, our weekly mobile adoption site, children who have proven they are trustworthy while at The Sanctuary are rewarded for their hard work while they will witness the joy of seeing a formerly ‘worthless’ dog transformed into a valued family member. They learn public speaking as they talk with interested families at Petco and show off the dogs they have trained. As they learn responsibility, become comfortable with us, and develop a purpose, their behavior changes. They begin to relax and improve their behavior due to this responsibility, the incentive of play time with the dogs, and the incentive of being allowed to volunteer at Petco. They learn to trust as they develop these relationships.
At Petco, our weekly mobile adoption site, children who have proven they are trustworthy while at The Sanctuary are rewarded for their hard work while they will witness the joy of seeing a formerly ‘worthless’ dog transformed into a valued family member. They learn public speaking as they talk with interested families at Petco and show off the dogs they have trained. As they learn responsibility, become comfortable with us, and develop a purpose, their behavior changes. They begin to relax and improve their behavior due to this responsibility, the incentive of play time with the dogs, and the incentive of being allowed to volunteer at Petco. They learn to trust as they develop these relationships.
The dogs in this program benefit greatly as well because they work with our rescues and help rehabilitate them. With the extra training they are much more adoptable, so our adoption rate increases. The dogs that are hyper or unruly learn manners and commands that make them better family members and less likely to be returned. The timid or shy dogs learn to trust and come out of their shell which makes them adoptable. Without this program the dogs are not able to receive one on one attention and training. The dogs involved in this program are adopted much faster than dogs who have not been involved and the return rate is much lower. This means more dogs are able to be saved from kill shelters, including one of our main priorities, shelters that use either gas chambers or the heart stick method of euthanasia.
