Rescue dogs offered summer getaways

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This article was published 06/07/2018 (2882 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dogs aren’t all that different from humans when they’ve been cooped up in one place for a while.

It is summer, after all. So why not a vacation?

That’s precisely what the Winnipeg Humane Society has set up for its rescues.

“The shelter can be a stressful place for a dog, whereas they get more relaxed in a home,” WHS spokesman Kyle Jahns said.

The shelter is encouraging Winnipeggers to apply to the WHS Weekend Staycation Program to foster a dog for a weekend.

The program will give medium- and large-breed dogs a chance to take a holiday away from the facility. The dogs will get a chance to socialize with new people, sniff out new areas and, potentially, find a permanent home.

And people who take a rescue home for a couple of days are able to let WHS know what the dog is like outside the shelter, vital information that can be shared with prospective adopters, Jahns said.

People who are interested in participating register online and will be matched with a dog based on their particular living situation, Jahns said.

Approved hosts will then meet with staff at the rescue centre to learn more about their four-legged guest and will be provided with the food and equipment needed for a successful stay.

Jahns said dog-sitters will get vests to put on the animals that say “Adopt me” so people who meet them over the weekend will know they are in need of a “forever home.”

“Dogs will go for day trips to Assiniboine Park or spend a weekend at a volunteer’s home, but this is the first time we’ve opened it up to the public,” he said.

Gabrielle Thiessen has been a WHS volunteer for the past 11 years.

“How many dogs have I had home? Oh, wow. I can’t even guess a number at this point,” she said, adding later on that the number is definitely in the dozens. “The first dog I took home was Smoothie and Smoothie now lives with me.”

Smoothie, who Thiessen said resembles a black lab, arrived at the shelter as a six-month-old puppy terrified of all kinds of noises, people and other dogs. But after hours of walking and playing, Thiessen said, they bonded.

“A shelter is a terrific place for dogs that need to be there initially, but for dogs who stay there, it’s not the ideal environment for a lot of them,” she said.

While staff and volunteers take the animals out for lots of walks and play with them, Thiessen said it’s simply not the same as having a stable home and getting lots of attention from loving owners.

Taking a rescue dog into a home — even if just for a few hours — brings out another side of them, she said, adding she still takes rescues to her Charleswood home for up to a day at a time.

Not only do the dogs get to hang out in a backyard and spend time off leash, but they also get to relax and “feel normal,” something Thiessen said is important for dogs healing from trauma, as many of the shelter dogs are. And she says when dogs with severe behaviour problems leave the shelter to visit a home, their behaviour often improves.

The dogs aren’t the only ones who benefit from a staycation.

“The rewards are endless. Just seeing a dog who is stressed out play with toys, it’s such a rewarding experience to be involved with,” Thiessen said.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @macintoshmaggie