Animal shelters nationwide are addressing quality of life issues in meeting needs of sheltered animals. Give a Dog a Bone’s enrichment program is a leader in that holistic movement.
Give a Dog a Bone
1200 15th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
415.934.4820
www.gadab.org
www.gadab.blogspot.com
info@gadab.org
THE LITTLEST DANDELION
She is a perfect 10,small for her breed, a little over ten months old, weighing in at about 40 pounds and probably won’t get much bigger, a bit shy, but tender, sweet, playful, and a dog with whom all of us at the shelter instantly fell in love.
She entered the shelter as a custody dog, which at San Francisco Animal Care & Control, the city’s municipal shelter, meant that she would be placed into the care of Give a Dog a Bone.
Lucky girl. Our organization is devoted to developing and maintaining environmental enrichment for dogs in who are in the shelter in protective custody or in medical quarantine – resulting in an indefinite stay in the shelter.
Behind a locked door, in a restricted area
we give them the attention and
compassion every animal deserves.
The public rarely knows
about these dogs.
Custody dogs are impounded for a variety of reasons, such as those taken from their owners on charges of neglect, abuse, and cruelty. We see dogs who have been made to fight one another; victims of people from all levels of life. Dogs are in custody due to owners who cannot care for them at present, due to hospitalization, arrest, eviction, or death, and we have a few dogs every year who enter the shelter to be placed in the Safe Pet Program – canine companions of domestic violence victims who are in a shelter themselves. Some of our dogs are impounded on an investigation due to a complaint. Our buddies in medical quarantine are also behind that locked door. Each dog’s case is different and no outcome is predictable.
In Give a Dog a Bone, we attend to the dogs holistically. Our focus is quality of life. Crucial to our buddies’ well-being while they are with us is recognizing their needs and interests as individuals, and tending to those needs in a species-inappropriate environment.
We incorporate mental and physical exercise, emotional care, play, manners training, object play, and real world socialization as much as we can within our limited environment.
Give a Dog a Bone changes the bleak existence of these dogs one chew toy, one play session, one belly-rub at a time.
Volunteers with GADAB have learned to work with some very challenging dogs. Most dogs in custody arrive with behavior issues, such as fearfulness, aggression, extreme shyness, no set boundaries, no training, etc. As the dogs’ progress through socialization, handling, and training, we find we also benefit. Our relationships with our dogs is very reciprocal. The dogs show us love, make us laugh, respond to us in new and more confident ways. The work can be intense and demanding, but ultimately, we are fortunate to be able to say that we love what we do.
Quality of life itself plays a huge part
in these animals being adopted.
Enhancing the lives of these dogs also impacts staff members, volunteers, and ultimately, the public. Staff morale is lifted by the visible difference that love, care, training, exercise, and companionship make in these dogs. Success is measurable.
Education is a key focus.
Give a Dog a Bone is a pilot program for every animal agency in the country, a work-in-progress goal of ours. We offer our programs nationwide.
Give a Dog a Bone has been commended and
recognized as a vigorous, indispensable element of sheltering by the San Francisco Department of Animal Care and Control, the San Francisco Commission of Animal Control and Welfare, the San Francisco SPCA, the ASPCA, and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
And little Dandelion? She has found her perfect home!
We welcome donations in any amount and offer many ways for you to make your contribution. All donations are tax deductible.
You can make a secure online donation through PayPal via credit cards or bank debit. If you prefer to mail a check or money order, please send to Give a Dog a Bone, 1200 15th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103.
A Giving Account through The Fidelity® Charitable Gift Fund can be set up. For more information, call 800-262-6039.
Nonprofit Organization IRS ID#94-3394582
We’re not new in the animal welfare community,
but we may be new to you.
Give a Dog a Bone
1200 15th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
415.934.4820
gadabmail@gmail.com
www.gadab.org (info, volunteering, donating FAQ) gadab.blogspot.com
who are our dogs?
Nonprofit Organization IRS ID#94-3394582
Give a Dog a Bone was honored by the local Chapter of the American Red Cross by being selected as the
2008 Animal Rescue Hero Of the American Red Cross.
“These dogs are true victims. Having someone to
work specifically with the neediest of the needy
could literally be the difference between life and
death for many of them.”
CARL FRIEDMAN, former Executive Director, Department of San Francisco Animal Care & Control
“The ASPCA National Shelter Outreach Department is proud to award a ‘Partners in Caring’ grant to Give a Dog a Bone for their innovative program. GADAB exemplifies how successful partnerships between volunteer/non-profit groups and municipal agencies can make a positive difference for the needy animals in a community.”
SAM MARSTELLAR, Western Region Manager, ASPCA
Give a Dog a Bone was awarded a Certificate of Honor by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, February 2003.
Corinne Dowling, Founder and Director of Give a Dog a Bone, was awarded The Humanitarian Award in 2002 by former San Francisco SPCA President Edward Sayres
(now serving as the President of the ASPCA).
Give a Dog a Bone*
1200 15th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
415 934.4820 phone
415 557.9950 fax
gadabmail@gmail.com
www.gadab.org
www.gadab.blogspot.com
Review from Guidestar