The Collierville Animal Services staff is always working to make the shelter as comfortable as possible for their temporary resident dogs and cats.
Recently, a non-profit organization called Dogs Play for Life did a seminar and workshop at the shelter about managing dogs in enclosed outdoor play areas.
Collierville Animal Shelter manager Christina Hodge contacted DPFL as part of her plan to expand the shelter’s outdoor space for dogs.
“Right now, we have room for 2, maybe 3 dogs at a time in our outdoor pen,” said Hodge. “With a minimum of 18 dogs in the shelter at any given time, the wait for outside time can be pretty long.”
Hodge said the pen that they hope to build will hold from 10-15 dogs at a time. The consultation with DPFL will guide CAS through the process and train shelter staff and volunteers to manage the potential personality clashes and power plays that can come when a large number of dogs are in an enclosed space together.
Dogs Play for Life partners with another company to provide grants to shelters for building large dog pens, so Hodge has submitted the required paperwork for the funds and is awaiting an answer. If CAS does not qualify for a grant, they have plans in place to hold fundraisers to finance the project.
“We are thinking of doing a spaghetti and bingo type fundraiser, and we may use our rabies and microchip drive as a fundraiser as well,” said Hodge.
She said that shelter staff will also participate in events at Carriage Crossing and the Shelby County Humane Society over the next 2 to 3 months to raise funds.
