Overwhelmed by the number of dogs in your care? Concerned about the well-being of long-term residents?
Temporary outing programs, also known as dog field trips, short-term outings, “Borrow A Buddy” programs, or sleepovers, offer a powerful solution. They allow dogs to experience life outside the shelter, boosting their chances of adoption by up to 14 times and reducing stress, especially during sleepovers. Increasingly popular in the US, these programs hold immense potential globally, particularly in areas with strong volunteer networks or thriving tourism. This guide provides a comprehensive collection of resources to help your shelter or rescue implement a successful temporary outing program.
Table of Contents
Building a Foundation: Gaining Buy-in and Addressing Concerns
Launching a new program requires stakeholder support. They’ll likely want evidence of the program’s benefits and examples of successful implementations. Here’s what you need:
Evidence Supporting Benefits
- Data from academic studies: The Dog Welfare Project’s research library summarized key studies on the benefits of short-term outings.
- Hear from the experts: Separately, watch this webcast from Shelter Animals Count as they expand on the benefits of temporary outing programs.
- Supporting case studies include:
- Louisville Metro Animal Services: Showcased significant behavior improvements, a 50% reduction in behavioral euthanasia, and over 70 adoptions.
- Maddie’s survey: Revealed that 26-50% of short-term outing volunteers become long-term foster caregivers, strengthening the organization.
- Lincoln County Animal Services: Facilitated 124 outings, resulting in 49 adoptions (19 long-term dogs) in just eight months.
Addressing Concerns
- Hear from a shelter: In this video below, Fredericksburg SPCA Executive Director shared what they found about concerns on their program.
- Addressing common concerns: Mutual Rescue’s Doggy Day Out toolkit addresses common concerns like liability, depression upon return, and safety. Maddie’s Fund also has a two-pager addressing concerns and proposing solutions.
- Dog bite occurrences: This research highlights that dog bites are extremely rare, happening only in 0.2% of cases.
- Setting realistic expectations: Study shows that adoption rates from temporary caregivers range from 4-12%.
Learning from Others: Examples of Successful Programs
- Global examples: The Dog Welfare Project’s compilation of notable programs.
- Mutual Rescue partners: List of Doggy Day Out partners across 40+ states.
- ASPCA Pro: Highlighting two case studies – New York City Animal Care and Minneapolis Animal Care and Control.
- Dogs Trust Ireland: A leading European shelter sleepover program.
Implementation: Step-by-Step Guides, SOPs, and Toolkits
Ready to launch your dog short-term outing program? The following resources provide step-by-step guides, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and toolkits to help you get started.
Step-by-Step Guides
- A short walkthrough: Hear about the key steps of a temporary outing program from Louisville Metro Animal Service (LMAS)
- Pilot set-up: Maddie’s Fund has a comprehensive pilot toolkit for
- Field trip: one-month pilot
- Sleepover: two-month pilot
- Full program set-up:
- Mutual Rescue’s Doggy Day Out Toolkit provides a step-by-step process, including team assembly, dog selection, scheduling, logistics, volunteer recruitment, and storytelling. Includes a sample volunteer manual and liability waiver template.
- VCA Charities have a workbook with a checklist of items for launching a dog day out program.
- Checklist: Maddie’s Fund Shelter Readiness Checklist helps you assess your shelter’s readiness.
Standard Operating Procedures, Guidelines, and Waivers
- Comprehensive toolkit: Maddie’s Fund offers a toolkit for short-term foster care, covering everything from weekend sleepovers to group outings. It includes sample guidelines, rules, reports, and agreements to help you establish your program.
- Essential information for participants: NYC ACC provides a concise two-page guide covering crucial details like contact information and what to do in various situations (e.g., lost dog, adoption interest).
- Sleepover specific guide: Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission (MADACC)’s Weekenders Club provides participants with a detailed sleepover guide, including home preparation and feeding instructions.
- Working with volunteers: Learn about Austin Animal Center’s volunteer process in this informative video below.
- Additional resources: Find more examples of volunteer guidelines and liability waivers from the City of Burleson, Fredericksburg Regional SPCA, and Maddie’s Fund.
Funding
- Grants available:
- Petfinder offers a grant specifically for Dog Field Trip and Short-Term Fostering programs.
Make it Easy for Volunteers: Sign-ups, FAQs, and Marketing
Supporting your volunteers is key to a successful program. This section covers sign-ups, FAQs, and marketing resources to help them thrive.
Volunteer Sign-Ups
- Recruiting caregivers: ASPCA provides a pre-written day out plea.
- Walk-in opportunities: Some programs, like the one at Fredericksburg Regional SPCA, allow volunteers to participate without pre-registration.
- Online sign-Up forms: KC Pet Project chooses to include foster terms and conditions on their sign-up form.
FAQs
- Addressing Common Questions: Humane Society Silicon Valley’s FAQ section provides a good model for addressing common concerns.
- Handout to caregivers: The Dog Welfare Project has created a one-page guide outlining basic rules and highlighting the impact of volunteering with shelter dogs.
Marketing & Promotion
- Field trip bingo: NYC ACC engages volunteers with a fun bingo game, encouraging them to visit landmarks, share photos on social media, and win prizes.
- Adoption promotion: NYC ACC provides volunteers with business cards (front, back) featuring scannable QR codes to promote adoptable dogs.
- Business partnerships: Saving Grace Humane Society’s Fido Field Trip Program partners with local businesses to provide treats for dogs and social media promotion.
Measuring Success: Evaluation and Data Tracking
Data tracking is essential for program success. Volunteer report cards provide valuable insights into individual dogs, while program metrics help refine the initiative for optimal impact.
Volunteer Report Cards
- Paper report cards: NYACC uses a visual, one-page format with three questions. Lincoln County Animal Services’ 5 Bark Stay Program and Pima Animal Care Center (PACC) also use similar formats.
- Online questionnaire: Minneapolis Animal Care Center offers an online field trip questionnaire.
Data Tracking
- Key metrics: Mutual Rescue discusses the importance of tracking dog outings, participation, and impact on adoption rates in this article.
Tips for Success
- ASPCA’s tips for success: The ASPCA offers seven tips for creating a successful program, including keeping it simple, establishing a program identity, targeting your audience, and celebrating achievements.
- Community engagement: Research shows that shelters with strong community caregiver involvement (volunteers and businesses) are more likely to succeed with these programs.
Connecting with the Community: Support Groups
Running a temporary outing program is not straightforward. These are the groups that could help support your efforts.
- Mutual Rescue: their Doggy Day Out program is focused on connecting shelters running temporary outing or Borrow A Buddy program with the appropriate resources.
- Facebook Groups:
- Maddie’s Pet Forum