The PEDIGREE Foundation has announced it’s expanding into Canada to launch its first-ever Canadian Grant Program to provide $100,000 in support to eight animal shelters, including the Cochrane & Area Humane Society (CAHS).
Canadian animal shelters are facing a crisis with a rise in surrenders and many facing capacity constraints. There are more than 80,000 animals in need of support across Canada.
The PEDIGREE Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization established by Mars Petcare with an ambition to help end pet homelessness. This grant will allow CAHS to develop programs to help increase dog adoption.
Representatives from the Nashville, Tennessee-based foundation came and looked at the Cochrane facility recently. They looked at programs and services offered, how the facility was operated, and conducted an audit.
The Cochrane society will receive $10,000, which is earmarked for behaviour modification programs and training for dogs with challenging behaviours.
Janine Rossler, Executive Director of CAHS, said besides the obvious financial benefit of being awarded the grant, it also represents a sense of validation of the society’s work.
“It’s their first time ever offering this grant in Canada so we’re pretty thrilled to be in the first round,” she said.
She said PEDIGREE recognized a gap in resources for shelters around the continent and targeted the grants appropriately.
Rossler said CAHS’ number-one priority in Cochrane is to provide training for dogs and humans, aimed at ensuring the success of adoptions and a reduction in returns.
One of the behaviour-related seminars coming up is for off-leash park behaviours.
“It’s about what to know if you’re going to go,” Rossler said.
The key to the overall success of the humane society, according to Rossler, is to strive to offer a wholistic array of services.
“We recognized many years ago – and it’s part of our vision and mission – that it’s about supporting people in responsible pet care, and with that comes a host of social services and programs to support that.” Rossler said.
Emergency boarding, consultations, training, common and complex pet behaviour modification, the pet food bank – the list of programs and services is long.
“We really want to see people’s needs being met as much as animals, because it really is a partnership,” Rossler said.
Deb Fair, Executive Director of PEDIGREE Foundation, said the data they’ve seen show that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, shelters in Canada and the U.S. are overflowing. During the lockdown, Fair said the reaction to the calls for people to take in pets in was gratifying.
“What was beautiful about human beings was the call to action,” she said from her office in Nashville.
But while a lot of people stepped up to help back then, she said now the problem is lack of resources, as shelters remain full.
And in North America, shelters are seeing more larger dogs, some with slight behavioural issues that must be addressed before they’re ready for adoption.
“That’s what the Cochrane & Area Humane Society requested, it’s for behaviour training. Because they can see that,” Fair said. “And if you can provide more behaviour training, you provide a greater chance for these dogs to get adopted.”
Fair was also on board with CAHS offering training for people as well.
“That’s brilliant,” she said. “It’s not always the dog – it’s the human being.”
Fair said it what makes Cochrane’s humane society a model for others is their detailed focus on behaviour from assessment to training, to behaviour-focused conversations with potential adopters, considering the needs of each dog and its future owner.
“It is a best practice process and program that can be shared with other shelters across North America,” Fair said.
For more information about the PEDIGREE foundation, go to mypedigree.ca and click on “adoption.”
For more information about programs offered at the Cochrane & Area Humane Society, go to cochranehumane.ca.
