One of my main projects in 2008 was a joint project with a dog food testing center in Kankakee, Illinois. Also involved were three dog rescue groups: Cause4PAWS, PAWS Chicago, and CPR (Child and Pet Relief) Rescue Fund as well as Unleashed dog boarding, grooming and training facility.
The nearly 200 dogs at this testing center are kept throughout their entire lives in crates and they function as “taste testers” of different flavors of dog food. I went to this location to work with the staff and re-educate them on dog behavior. For several months, I presented information and offered training sessions on reading dog body language, calming the dogs and basic obedience. I also consulted with the staff to determine which dogs should interact with others in the group so that they could then have a better quality of life by having other dogs as companions.
One of the other important reasons for this project was to help place some of the dogs that weren’t working out well at the testing site with rescue groups and in foster and/or permanent homes. A few dogs had medical conditions or were so fearful that they weren’t able to successfully integrate into the center. With the help of the rescue groups and boarding facility mentioned above, some of these dogs are now living in loving homes where they can live out their last days happily and as cherished pets.
