This shelter program provides its canines a day of enjoyable, hanging with a vacationer who’s primed to exit and discover.
By Rebecca Wallick
through Maui Humane Society
Are you planning a Hawaiian trip to Maui? Initially, fortunate you. However second, do you know you may assist shelter canines throughout your time on the island? Maui Humane Society’s Seaside Buddies program provides its canines a day of enjoyable away from the shelter, hanging with a vacationer who had already deliberate to exit and discover.
Shelter canines all over the place profit from a break in routine. Even in one of the best amenities — and, sure, even in Hawaii — shelter life is disturbing for many canines. Getting outside, exercising, and interacting with the world does wonders for these canines’ emotional well being, in the end making them extra adoptable.
How Maui Humane’s Seaside Buddy Program Began
Seaside Buddies began in April 2015 and required a leap of religion, in keeping with Jerleen Bryant, the society’s former CEO. “The shelter on Kauai had began a program known as Shelter Canines on Subject Journeys, and it had been going a few 12 months; they’d nice success and restricted issues. We held off one other 12 months, asking a lot of questions, [then launched] our personal program.”
For Bryant, the overriding consider figuring out whether or not to go together with the Seaside Buddies program was how this system would profit the animals. She knew that socializing and publicity would enhance adoptions, so determined to provide it a strive.
How Seaside Buddies Works
Up to now, Maui Humane Society (MHS) employees and volunteers— to not point out the canines—love this system, which has grown with 5 or extra “Seaside Buddies–permitted” canines accessible every day.
“Individuals are calling on a regular basis to take part,” Bryant says. “This system is now all the time totally booked, but when folks ebook a time far sufficient forward, they’ll get in.” With extra sources, Bryant hopes they’ll add extra days per week to fulfill demand, which might be a plus for canines and vacationers alike.
Deciding on Your Seaside Buddy
This system is run by a volunteer coordinator who matches canines — each small and massive — with vacationers who’ve signed up on-line. “We select rock-solid, no-red-flags canines,” says Bryant. “As soon as the canines are chosen, individuals who join can select amongst them, first-come-first-served.
The shelter has 5 staging areas, the place, amongst different issues, the fortunate canines chosen to take part are bathed earlier than assembly their vacationer and heading out the door.
Happening an Island Journey
All Seaside Buddies exit with particular “Undertake me!” harnesses and leashes, a backpack with provides for the day (together with a towel, water, bowl, poop baggage, treats, and emergency contact information) and a listing of urged locations to go to. Individuals are inspired to file their outings, and the shelter shares their movies and pictures on its Fb web page.
Seaside Buddies’ Impression
After the outing, MHS asks contributors to offer a write-up of their expertise for potential adopters — it’s one other method to assist the shelter and its canines. What’s extra, Bryant’s hope for this system in the end got here to be realized: adoption charges are higher due to the Seaside Buddies canines. “Some folks undertake the canine they took out for the day,” she says.
Maui Humane Society Brings Pups to the Mainland
For these of us who aren’t going to journey to Maui any time quickly, MHS has one other program that includes the mainland. Wings of Aloha is a program via which the shelter flies a few of their canines to the mainland, the place accomplice shelters assist discover them houses.
Wings of Aloha was born out of desperation, in keeping with Bryant. On Maui, there are way more canines than houses capable of take them in. The island has a inhabitants of roughly 140,000, and the shelter takes in 8,000 animals annually, one-third of that are canines. The shelter is working arduous to regulate the island’s inhabitants of homeless animals, however given the obstacles they face (a finite variety of houses capable of undertake, the difficulties renters face when making an attempt to undertake), the shelter employees requested themselves what MHS may do to deal with the imbalance. The reply? Wings of Aloha was born in 2012, and MHS has shipped lots of of canines to accomplice shelters on the mainland since.
When Wings launched, Bryant was the shelter’s director of improvement. Earlier than shifting to Maui, she had run a rescue group in Oregon, typically pulling as much as 40 canines at a time from shelters if their lives had been in danger. Shifting massive numbers of canines didn’t faze her. Nonetheless, the price of doing so was an impediment. Fueled by donor cash, Wings of Aloha started by buying airline tickets and crates to move the canines stateside, additionally paying to return the crates, which turned out to be cheaper than shopping for new ones.
How COVID-19 impacted this system
For the reason that COVID-19 pandemic, nonetheless, this system has modified: on account of airline restrictions, together with some airways not permitting pets to fly or limiting the variety of animals allowed on a single flight, there’s a extra thorough course of concerned with transporting MHS canines. In 2022, MHS nonetheless despatched over 600 animals via this system, nonetheless, and may nonetheless assist people who find themselves concerned with adopting a pet transport that pet residence. Go to mauihumanesociety.org to study extra data.
Rebecca Wallick, was long-time contributing editor for The Bark journal and retired household regulation lawyer, she lives with two canines and runs mountain trails at each alternative.
