Dogs kenneled at South Salt Lake Animal Services (2274 S. 600 West) were treated to a day of fun interaction and professional grooming in January. The Shelter Support Program, organized by Evening Arts, brought pet business partners to the no-kill shelter to prepare the pups for adoption.

The nine rescue dogs at the SSL shelter received pet massage, playtime with volunteers, professional photography and grooming services. Lizzy Sawyer, owner of Evening Arts, coordinated the event to support rescue animals and the shelters that care for them. 

“It’s all about a full day of enrichment for the animals,” Sawyer said. “It’s about allowing the staff members at the shelter a reprieve and it’s all about giving them the best tools to market and network those animals. It’s about getting the dogs out, allowing us to see how they interact in different environments and allowing us to see what types of individuals they do well with. We give all of that feedback to the shelter.”

Several businesses showed up to support the event. The Grateful Shed mobile grooming service provided baths, trims and brushing. Bark and Snap pet photography created photos of the pups to post online. Muralist Artistically, Sam was on hand to paint a mural on the shelter window. 

Everyday Doggo provided durable, handmade dog gear while Poop Scoop Utah cleaned out the kennels and play areas. Bark N' Go brought its mobile gym to give the rescues some exercise with its doggie treadmill and Jessie Schwendinger offered pet massage and therapy. 

“Usually, for a first appointment, it’s not a lot of deep tissue massage or working on physical therapy. It’s more just to get them used to the body-handling aspect of it,” she said. “There’s a whole cooperative care element, getting them used to body-handling, like in a vet situation or at the groomers. It’s getting them used to having their body handled and it helps them have a little more confidence in those environments.

“[The benefit] is the bond with humans, especially with shelter dogs when we don’t know their history, like what scars they have from people, mentally or physically. This is just reestablishing trust.”

Sawyer said rescue dogs spend a lot of time in kennels so the event gets the dogs out of their cages and provides necessary development skills. The enrichment station allowed the pups to do activities that naturally help them learn including licking, sniffing, scratching and digging. 

Volunteers encouraged the pups to play with cardboard boxes filled with shredded paper and snacks, and towels wrapped around treats offered a fun scent activity for the dogs. 

“They’ve got to work and use their brains to puzzle it out to get the treat,” Sawyer said. “And then we will also be doing lick bowls, just to get them that stimulation with the sniff and lick together.”

SSL Animal Services works with Best Friends Animal Society and recently took in a few of its animals after Best Friends was inundated with dogs following the California wildfires. The shelter promotes responsible pet ownership and provides microchipping and licensing. Donations to the shelter can be made at slc.gov/369/Animal-Services.

“There’s just so many rescues and not enough people coming out to adopt,” Sawyer said. “It’s hard. It’s really hard.”

The Shelter Support Program is also raising money online to purchase foot and other pet supplies for South Salt Lake Animal Services. λ