Building Shelter, Rebuilding Lives: Creating pet-friendly spaces for domestic violence survivors

By Katie Campbell, RedRover Outreach Manager

We’re not in Kansas anymore! Earlier this month, we wrapped up our shelter build with GreaterGood.org’s Rescue Rebuild program in Saline County, Kansas, and we’re gearing up for a future build in Georgia coming soon (stay tuned for more details on that one!).

What’s not to love about renovating a building to accommodate the pets of domestic violence survivors? This particular building had an expansive basement that allowed us to create a pet-friendly living room designed with pets and their family members in mind. With pet-friendly building materials and calming colors, this room was transformed into a space that will welcome many families for years to come.

We also installed a pet wash station and some dog kennels that will allow for dogs to stay relaxed and safe while their humans are away from the shelter. And our RedRover Responders volunteers created cat bridges for the shelter’s pet-friendly rooms that I know will be loved by felines and humans alike!

The shelter’s outdoor space also received some special treatment with the installation of an outdoor play yard to provide some much-needed exercise. The play yard provides a safe space for dogs to exercise, separate from the children’s play yard. (Pro-tip: Always create separate play spaces for animals and children and include some privacy fencing – bamboo fence rolls work great for this!).

Did you catch my daily updates on our social media channels? I’ll be working to bring daily updates to you from our builds when I can. You’ll get a “behind-the-scenes” look at the project while we’re on the ground, and you’ll get to meet the amazing folks who make this possible – from the Rescue Rebuild team to our RedRover Responders volunteers.

Next up, I’ll be joining Bryn Donnelly from Rescue Rebuild in Macon, GA, on October 29th for our first Don’t Forget the Pets training for domestic violence and homeless shelters, animal organizations, veterinarians and anyone else interested in supporting a pet-friendly program. Learn more at rescuerebuild.greatergood.org/macon.

Until next time!

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