Activity: Supporting the Hundenruhe Haven Senior Dog Sanctuary
Group: Clarks Mills Good Sports 4-H Club — Manitowoc County
Date of activity: December 10, 2013 and March 11, 2014
Number of people: 42 youth; 8 adults
Hours worked on project: 3 hours per person
Club members collected over 84 items for Hundenruhe Haven Senior Dog Sanctuary in December 2013:
- 3 dog toys
- 4 hand made blankets
- 11 jars of peanut butter
- 3 bags of dog tr1 bag of dry dog food
- 2 dog chews
- 34 cans of dog food eats
- 1 bag of tennis balls
- 4 packs of paper plates
- 17 rolls of paper towels
- 4 bottles of bleach
- 1 gift certificate to the Kiel Vet clinic
- and $15.00 in cash
In March 2014, club members made 10 dog blankets and donated them to Hundenruhe Haven, making a total of 95 items donated. Jodee Stahmer, founder of Hundenruhe Haven, brought three of the 18 dogs she presently cares for and spoke to the club about all the work the dog sanctuary does.
Hundenruhe Haven Dog Sanctuary was founded in 2005 and takes in dogs under 25 pounds that are aging, handicapped, or have a medical condition that makes them unadoptable. Many of the dogs come from older people no longer able to care for them, puppy mills, or families that know they cannot care for the dog. Hundenruhe Haven takes in dogs from many states, not just Wisconsin. The dog sanctuary depends on donations to help with necessary expenses. The donations made by 4-H club members will make a huge impact on offsetting some of the daily expenses of running the dog sanctuary. Each family made a donation that they felt would be of benefit to Hundenruhe Haven whether in food, toys, or other supplies/gifts.
4-H members learn empathy for aging and/or disabled dogs and respect for those dedicated to caring for them. 4-Hers learned about the special dietary, medical, and physical needs of these dogs and how much work goes into locating, transporting, and caring for them. 4-H members discover that everyone working together and donating a small amount can add up to a big impact for this non-profit organization. This project was selected by the 4-H club members because of their interest in helping animals. Not only were members able to make donations, they could make dog blankets for the sanctuary to use. Meeting some of the dogs from Hundenruhe Haven helped the 4-Hers see how the dogs directly benefit from their donations and helped develop their concern for others, even when the “others” are not human!
