Members of the Animal Care Team at Bristol Animal Rescue Centre will be spending the night inside a dog kennel block to help raise vital funds to build a dog sensory garden at the Centre.
Five Animal Care Assistants will be ‘ruffing’ it by sleeping inside a newly refurbished kennel block in a bid to raise at least £150 towards the Centre’s dog sensory garden appeal.
Team members Georgia, Kadie, Ted, Kaya and Kelly will each spend the night in a kennel later this week and have set up a JustGiving fundraiser for supporters to sponsor their efforts.
“Many of the dogs who are taken into our care have come from difficult circumstances. They’re trying to adjust to a sudden and dramatic change in their circumstances. They might be in pain from a medical condition they’ve not yet been treated for. They’re in an unfamiliar environment with people they have never seen before. They arrive scared and stressed,” explained Anna O’Dell, Fundraising & Communications Manager at Bristol Animal Rescue Centre.
“While our team do all they can to help our animals feel comfortable and happy while they’re here, kennels are a stressful environment for them. Beyond their daily walks and enrichment activity, they need a space to relax, which is why we need to create this dog sensory garden,” she added.
The kennels have recently been refurbished, so as well as raising funds for the garden, the team view this as a sort of test run before any dogs are put in there.
“We are passionate about caring for these dogs and want to make sure they have the best conditions possible,” explained Georgia, Assistant Animal Behaviour Support. “If it’s good enough for us to sleep in, it’ll be good for the dogs – so we’re going to do this for them, and also to help raise money for this dog sensory garden, which will have such a positive impact on their day-to-day lives”.
Why a dog sensory garden?
Dog sensory gardens reduce stress and anxiety and encourage dogs to feel more secure in their surroundings by using different smells, textures, sounds and tastes.
With a little bit of dog-friendly landscaping, we can help decrease their boredom and encourage more of their natural behaviours. We’d like to create an area like this on our site, one that is specifically designed to offer stimulation and enrichment for our dogs.
This project will cost us around £13,000 to bring to life, and an online appeal has been launched to help raise the funds. The kennel sleepover is just one of many fundraising efforts over the next few months that will contribute to this target.
“Our team are passionate about caring for these animals, many of whom have been through a lot before they arrive here. By creating this garden, we hope to ease their anxieties and give more dogs a second chance at a happy life,” said Anna.
