ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Abilene’s All Kind Animal Initiative introduced a new program to combat mental health decline in dogs brought on by reaching capacity in the shelter. The program is called “Dog’s Day Out,” and it’s exactly how it sounds.
Doggy Day Out gives friends to the animals the opportunity to give an Abilene pup a change of scenery and social interaction they need. Foster and rescue coordinator, Kaylee Philipp told KTAB/KRBC this program is aimed to help the dogs’ mental health and get them adopted or fostered quickly.
“It helps them get away from the noise and the shelter environment, so it help decrease a lot of stress,” Philipp explained. “One day can make a huge difference in a dog’s mental health. Also, if you find someone that happens to fall in love with that dog on their day out, then you can change their life completely by getting them adopted or finding them a long-term foster.”
For Amber Gonzales, All Kind dog tech, her experience on a day out turned into weeks.
“It’s good for their mental health. They need sunshine, they need us to love on them, they need interaction with people; other animals, kids. It’s all very important, and if they’re just here sitting sad, that’s not really going to help them get adopted anyways. People are going to be like, ‘I don’t want this sad dog, I want the one that’s really happy to see me,’” Gonzales said.
Participants can choose the places for their doggy adventure, as long as it is not a dog park or potentially dangerous to them.
The day out not only gives dogs a mental break, but it also helps All Kind keep its shelter healthy and clean for the animals.
To participate in the program, you must meet the qualifications for fostering a dog and agree to the stipulations, as outlined on the web form. These stipulations include refraining from close interactions with other pets.
If everything checks out, you could even spend some time with a good pup the same day!
After returning the dog an hour before closing, you also turn in a report card noting their behaviors, characteristics, and activities from that day.