Rescues Rock is a weekly feature that celebrates rescue animals and their forever homes! Check back often for a new pet success story. Special thanks to the rescue groups all over the Inland Northwest and the work they do that makes stories like these possible!

Dog Meets World Program
at SCRAPS

Someone let the (shelter) dogs out and it’s saving their lives and bringing out the public in droves! SCRAPS is proud to announce its Dog Meets World program, which pairs members of the community with shelter dogs for field trips. Outings can include a hike, a trip to a lake or shop or other destination, a coffee or meal in a pet-friendly establishment, or couch time! Whether you already have a dog or aren’t ready for one, participation in our Dog Meets World program is a great way to get your pup fix while making a huge difference to an animal in need.

Dog Meets World was created to help reduce kennel stress and provide shelter dogs with enrichment and increased visibility. Outings give the shelter valuable insight into dogs’ personalities outside of a shelter environment and are a great excuse to spend a few hours making a new friend, doing something new, or exploring Spokane County! Participants will be provided with everything they need for a successful field trip, including a collar/harness, leash, treats, and a water bowl.

The length of this program for now is only a month. One of our goals is to open this up to the public in the summer time, but our long-term goal is to continue this yearly day in and day out. This type of program has proven very beneficial in other shelters across the U.S.  Most studies have found that dogs who are out, even for short periods of time, the level of stress that they have while at the shelter drops tremendously. It also helps reduce bad kennel behavior, such as: jumping, barking, lunging, bouncing off walls, etc. The idea and thought behind this is to help show the public the dogs true personalities, and give them something to connect with, because dogs under stress will present differently than a dog out for their daily stroll.

Similar programs at shelters across the country have been enormously successful, and SCRAPS is excited to introduce this to the Spokane community! The Dog Meets World program will not only get dogs out of their stressful environment, but will hopefully help find their forever homes! We are super excited to be starting this up here in Spokane, and we thank everyone who is wanting to be involved and continuing to help with our mission in saving these animals’ lives.

We will be launching this program on Saturday, March 16, and Sunday, March 17.

If you are interested in participating, please email SCRAPSRescue@spokanecounty.org! And, if you are interested in donating program supplies, please visit the Amazon wishlist at http://a.co/6uweOEs

Submitted by Hava, SCRAPS