ABOUT SHELTER INITIATIVE

Friends of the Dog NPC - Company No : 2014/094713/08

We need your help financially to help the dogs in shelters - we are raising funds to improve their quality of life - make them more adoptable - ensure that they end up in right home - that new owners get the education, and help they need, to ensure the adoption is successful. This is being done independently from the shelters, there is simply never enough money available at shelters for this type of work, so the only way we can make this possible is to raise funds ourselves.

In order to achieve this this we have opened up Sponsorship Advertising on our website. This ranges from a Classified Sponsorship Advert at R500 per annum (which can be paid in 3 installments), through to website sponsorship from R550 to R2200 per month. This is not just an advert - there is so much more offered, including articles featuring your Logo and Infomercial, free classifieds etc! The reason these options are so affordable, is that we are not a business - we are trying to make a difference in the lives of the dogs.

We average between 5500 - 9500 unique visitors per week, which translates to 15500 - 35000 pages read per week. Best of all is that you are growing your business in your target market, PLUS, you are helping to make a dogs life in a shelter better, make them more adoptable, and the chances of a successful adoption higher. Thank you and please do share.

ABOUT THE SHELTER INITIATIVE

Due to the vast amount of mis-information and incorrect advice that was available on various media platforms, our initial aim was to have a website geared towards knowledge and information, and a reliable source of information for all dog owners. This was based on behaviour and all things dog, and on the 14th Feb 2011, Friends of the Dog was born. We now have over 1400 articles and all the Tabs you can see on the side, including Breed Compatibility and help for new owners in the FODS Adoption Assistance section.

As behaviourists, we came across so many dogs that had been adopted from shelters with multiple behaviour problems - many of which could have been avoided. Another major concern, was that many of the dogs simply did not 'fit' their homes in that two females were living together, often resulting in fighting - breeds and dogs that were not compatible were living together - some dogs did not suit their new owners lifestyles, and most worrying, was that very, very few people that adopted, were given the tools necessary to help them to successfully integrate these dogs into their homes, and deal with any problems encountered - all dogs need love, and love can move mountains as the saying goes - however, sometimes love is just not enough - we decided to do something about it and we have, but we need your help to do more! How:-

We started the FODS Adoption Assistance Tab on the website which was aimed at supplying basic knowledge to people adopting.
We started the Canine Behaviour Shelter Courses, and have been running these over the last 18 months in both Jhb and Cape and have the first one happening in the Stilfontein area next year. These courses give staff, volunteers and anybody that wants to know more about working with dogs in shelters the tools they will need. Our methods are designed to lower the stress found in shelters, make the dogs more adoptable by teaching basics exercises and give the shelter the tools to bring in one-on-one sessions etc.
Several of the participants on the above course, have taken the work further and started the initiative at their own shelters as well. This is done independently, but with us all working together to achieve a common aim.
Some of these participants have also taken their own knowledge further and are studying canine behaviour so that they can help dogs and owners further.
At the shelters involved in this initiative, we are matching the right dogs to the right homes and ensuring that a good match to any existing dogs.
We are giving owners a one-on-one behaviour session before they take the new dog home, to increase the chances of the adoption being a success.
We supply the owner with comprehensive notes to help them.
We keep in touch to help with any problems encountered.
We are building play/work areas so that dogs in the shelter can have more mental and physical stimulation.
We are building a new run for introductions, where dogs can be worked on one at a time.
We are starting to build smaller runs , where dogs can be kept by themselves or in two's while being worked on. This makes it possible to supply the dogs with chew items and toys to provide additional stimulation. It is also impossible to do this when you have 5 - 7 dogs in a run together, and getting one dog out at a time, can really become a nightmare.
All dogs on the initiative are being walked and exercised a few times a week and their skills and behaviour improved.
We are aiming to build more separate runs and also to employ staff which will be trained and work daily on the dogs in the initiative.
We are also working on dogs in the shelter with fear behaviour and helping them to become more confident so that they can be adopted.

This is Samantha from Fallen Angels. After 3 days she still would not eat, would not interact or come out, and spent her time huddled up at the back of her kennel. Our first session was just getting us used to being by her kennel utilizing dogs body language

As she could not be touched, we used a TTouch method of a wrap attached to a pole and slowly started getting her used to being touched with this in stages. She was still very tense but started to close her eyes and lie down and seemed to start enjoying the session

Bu the end of the next session, she was allowing us to touch her with our hand - had come closer to the front of the kennel.

At the end of this session, while we were sitting quietly outside her kennel, she stood up and started eating for the first time!

What happened next had us in tears of joy - after her session and we had just left her run, she happily came running up and straight to the fence where we were standing and started taking treats from us! This gorgeous girl still has a way to go, but she is now starting to interact with strangers and walking on lead.