We did not do a risk assessment prior. We were very hesitant and nervous about it, I won't lie. We visited a nearby municipal shelter who does a similar program and when we asked all our fears, they said they just had to be okay with not controlling every single element. We started it with limiting it to a few select adoptable dogs. As it became more popular we opened it to all available dogs we have. I will say we started the program in April 2024 and have only had 1 bite occur that happened to be from our longest term resident. We allow the public to bring their dog to meet our prior to taking home as well. We do conversation based adoption and counseling regard introductions. The biggest issue we have had is dogs getting loose from their fosters. I have a manual I send out with every trip that has any information they would need regarding a dog getting loose, bites, behavior issues, etc. Our county has a non emergency telecommunications number that dispatches our on call officers, and that is our back up plan for after hours issues. That way the on call officer can get in touch with leadership and make the call on what should be done. They also sign a waiver. I will attach what we have to this reply. Mutual Rescue has a great starter kit online as well. It helped me make the manual for ours.
I hope this helps!
Here is what our stats looked like from April 2024 to the end of the year. Today we hit our 60th adoption through the program!
2024 Yearly Stats |
5 Barks |
Total Dogs Thru Program |
82 |
Adopted Thru Program |
49 |
Overall Trips |
124 |
Returned |
2 |
LTR Adopted Thru |
19 |
Program Started 4/21/2024 |
|
|
|
|
LTR Adopted Thru LOS 60+ Days |
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McKenzie Cook
Canine Placement Coordinator
Lincoln County Animal Services
Lincolnton NC
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-03-2025 10:34 PM
From: Danielle Griggs
Subject: Doggy Day Out
Hi there,
I am in Australia and we are running a Doggy Day Out pilot program next week. (I am very excited).
HR department would like to know if anyone has done a risk assessment before running this program, and if yes would you be able to share this information with us?
Does your program ever had any incidents and were they major and what kind of nature were they?
We are concerned potentially regarding bite to humans and dog to dog bites etc.
One more final question, do you have an emergency response process/procedure, and if so what do you have in place.
I really hope you are able to share this with me.
Cheers,
Danielle Griggs
#FieldServicesandPublicSafety*
#FosterPrograms
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Danielle Griggs
Foster Care/ Rescue group Manager
AWL Animal Welfare League South Australia
AP
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