HUMANS & HOUNDS

Give a Dog a Home Rescue's

SOCIAL CLUB

 

Give a Dog a Home Rescue understands and appreciates the human/animal connection. Having been running Give a Dog a Home Rescue for 12 years saving dogs and cats from all kinds of backgrounds, the overwhelming, love, gratitude and devotion from the bond formed between pets and people is incredible.

For numerous reasons, not all families or people can have, or want a pet, but still miss the unconditional love that dogs give out.

There have been hundreds, possibly thousands of studies that have and are being conducted on the benefits of interactions between humans and dogs. This snippet from a fascinating analysis article from the website Frontiers in Veterinary Science -  Dogs Supporting Human Health and Well-Being: A Biopsychosocial Approach, explains possibly rationale for the connection. The article, is definitely worth the read.

. . . "One theoretical rationale for dogs' stress-reducing benefits consists of the dog's ability to provide non-judgmental social support, improve positive affect, and provide a calming presence. Dogs may also contribute to a feeling of perceived safety and provide a tactile and grounding comfort. For these reasons, dogs are often incorporated into treatment and recovery for individuals who have experienced a traumatic event. Another mechanism contributing to these stress reducing benefits may be tactile stimulation and distraction derived from petting or stroking a dog"

With my experience of running the rescue and growing up in a social, community environment and going on to join the British Armed Forces, I know that there is an emotional and mental need and benefit to be a part of a social and community environment and so with the help of some wonderful community members, together we are moving forward with another GaDaH Community Venture in our "HUMANS & HOUNDS, SOCIAL CLUB"

The goal and purpose of the Humans & Hounds Social Club is to bring people from all areas of the community together to spend time at the rescue doing both hound and human things. Some ideas we are going to be working on:

• ​ Pizza with the Pups
• Movie Nights with the pups - indoor and outdoor in the warmer months
• Mid-morning coffee and pup-cuddles
• Summer Trips to the beach
• Trips to other organizations/non-profits - example - wildlife rehabilitation centers
• Dance nights with the Dogs
• Reading to the Dogs
• Learning about each other
• Through the Ages - talks with seniors about how life was "way back when" and comparing to how the younger generation lives are.
• Pack Walks
• Attending community events & parades
• First Aid courses, humans and pets
• Making movies to promote the rescue and all our community programs
• Practical Learning - community members come to help teach their trade - example - making obstacle course for the dogs, upkeep and maintenance of the rescue
• Holding Fundraising Events
• Anything anyone wants to do and organize.
• Helping others - in our community and other non-profit organizations
• A warming station for when there are power outages.

Humans and Hounds Social Club is looking for people from all areas of the community, from seniors to toddlers, from the lonely people to the huge family households, from low income families, people with disability's, we want to include anyone that is interested.

The rescue has so much to offer the community and the community has so much to offer the rescue. We are doing a dis-service to not move forward with this program. Enrichment is crucial for both humans and animals mental benefit

Someone who is feeling sad or lonely could come and cuddle with a dog whilst watching a movie, that dog who was rescued from a high kill shelter in the south will most likely never have felt so much love and compassion and just be spending time together, healing of both hearts and minds can begin.

The benefits are literally EPIC and we intend to ensure that Piscataquis County, the poorest county in the state of Maine has something different, something fun, something rewarding and right here in their county. No longer do we have to see events going on in Bangor that we can't afford to get to, or it is just too far. Give a Dog a Home Rescue has a shuttle bus - if people want to come, but are unable, we will arrange for people to be picked up. For adventures out with the dogs, we have the bus to take us all anywhere we want to go - we want to ensure that all Humans and Hounds experience the sand between their toes, I know for a fact it will be a first experience for the dogs and am pretty sure it would be the first for a lot of people in our community.

Humans and Hounds Social Club is about connecting, sharing, learning and understanding that no matter what status someone has in the community they have a real benefit. Imagine the knowledge that is being wasted away in our senior community, the venturing in all the new trends the younger generation can bring. Bringing people together, at no expense to them, to just relax and take time out for them. Mental health is so very important and at Give a Dog a Home Rescue we have something that no medication can replace - the beating hearts and happy souls of precious rescue dogs.

Questions & Answers

Where will the Humans and Hounds Social Club be? Our get togethers, will be held at the rescue in Sebec, Maine.

When will the Humans and Hounds Social Club be open? Initially we will look to hold our gatherings at the rescue maybe once a month, or once every two weeks, depending on how much help and interest we get. The goal is to hold it once a week in the evenings for those at school and work.

We are hoping to hold coffee and cuddle mornings and maybe matinee's movies for those available in the daytime. Our "adventures out" would need to be coordinated with availability and of course what I have going on with the actual running of the rescue!

Is there any age restrictions? There are no age restrictions the more diverse age range, the more we and the dogs specifically all benefit. That being said, people under 18 would need to be supervised by an adult and any person with disability or senior that needs specific assistance will need to come with their helper.

What facilities are there? We have a room at the end of the kennel building that together we can organize and make it how "we" want it to be. We can look for some second hand sofa's chairs, tables and everything that we want.

Can we show up at anytime? The Humans and Hounds Social Club will have strict timings for arrival. This is due it being too disrupt ive for the dogs and anything we are doing to have people coming in late. Anyone is welcome to leave early, but the arrival times will be specific and adhered to.

Is there access to a toilet? At the moment we have a porta-loo (porta-potty) at the front of the kennel building, but our hopes would be to have a small room addition and a toilet and sink plumbed in for comfort and warmth.

What things do you intend offering? As well as those listed above, we are open to doing anything people want to do. It would need to be the concencius and of course people would need to be involved in organizing, fundraising if necessary and making things happen - working together, as a community to achieve the goal.

Is there internet connection? We have a booster for the internet and we have loaned a flat screen TV. We intend to purchase a few laptops so should anyone not have access to the internet at home, they can have access whilst they are here.

Do we have to pay? The Humans and Hounds Social Club is free. Of course if anyone wants to make a tax deductible donation, that is always welcome to help us be able to do more. We will apply for grants and also together we will arrange and hold fundraisers. an example, we could hold a bake sale to raise funds to cover the cost of diesel for the shuttle bus so we can go to the beach  . . . and have ice cream, you can't go to the beach and not have ice-cream. At least that is the English way lol.

Is the facility wheel-chair accessible? There are two ways to enter the back kennel room, either through the kennel building (it has the narrower door) or through the dogs play area outdoor gates. We will do whatever we can to accommodate everyone. Initially we might have to be resourceful, but maybe a project for the Humans & Hounds Social Club could be installing a wider entrance door!

How many people does the shuttle bus carry? The shuttle bus is licensed to carry 14 passengers and the driver, we just need to get the seats put back in. We also do have a wheel-chair lift that if needed, we would just need to get it installed and wired back in.

Can you accommodate people with anxiety? The goal is for people to come and enjoy themselves, be that hanging out with a dog, running around the play-yard with a dog, organizing future gatherings, chatting with others, or spending quiet time alone.

Do you require people to be vaccinated against Covid-19? People's health is their own business. We expect that should anyone not be feeling well in any way that they stay at home and should anyone have a cough or the sniffles they will be asked to leave. The health of everyone is important, especially if we have a wide age range of people. If people prefer to wear masks, they are more than welcome to do that and we do have a few masks at the rescue if someone should want to wear one whilst here. However, it is not a requirement, unless mandated by the law!

In the kennels we do have a UV Sanitizing light and also an air scrubber, we would look into purchasing the same for the community room and will always have hand sanitizer, hand sanitary wipes, masks and anything else required for safety available.

Are there any rules?  There will be typical rules of how people will be expected to behave; respectful, kind and such and there will be rules in regards to being with the dogs, arrival times (as mentioned) above and other issues that we feel need to be agreed upon when people join the Humans and Hounds Social Club.