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On December 10, 2005 with little fanfare, but of great
importance, our first program was re-introduced to the
public – off- site adoptions – thanks to the return of some
of our core volunteers. Show & Tail, an educational program,
resumed in Jefferson Parish Schools and we held our annual
Holiday Pet Photos two weekends in December, thanks to Gulf
Coast Doberman Rescue. In early January we launched the
return of our Dog Obedience classes and unveiled a new
program, The Lily Project, an
animal
identification program that provided free tags and collars
to thousands. The project was named in honor of a dog
separated from her family at the Convention Center. With
great joy they were ultimately reunited in December due to
information on Lily’s collar, bearing a name and phone
number. Although the phone number on the collar led to a
dead phone line, an Internet search of the number located
the owners in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
We also started a rehabilitation program for animals
suffering from higher than usual trauma, both physical and
emotional. There you’ll find dogs that we have identified as
frightened or especially crippled, emotionally or
physically. In this specially designed tent, we provide them
with a quiet environment and more enhanced, intimate,
one-on-one interaction. We identify their special needs and
develop socialization tools based on their individual needs.
January also saw the addition of an animal trainer using her
expertise and skills to assess our shelter dogs’ behaviors.
February 14, 2006 heralded a major milestone. With a new,
albeit small, staff in place we opened the doors to the
public for adoptions on-site for the first time since August
26, 2005. February also marked the establishment of a Humane
Law Enforcement Division in Baton Rouge. That program is
still in its dawning phase but as it grows we hope to
support other municipalities in their animal welfare efforts
and create more dialogue and awareness of animal issues on a
statewide level. In early March we
 saw
the Return of the Pet of the Week feature in the local
publication Gambit Weekly, which features adoptable animals
at our shelter. |
