Helping dogs across Colorado

This is the tale of a dog named Brice. A story that has a couple twists and a few turns, all with the goal of helping a kind Labrador retriever mix find his way home. Before we dive into this handsome pup’s story, we should first tell you a little about the situation that started it all and how the Colorado Humane Society (CHS), a program of the Dumb Friends League, helped give him a second chance at a new life.

Colorado Humane Society lending a hand to shelters in western Colorado

In August of 2018, CHS created new partnerships with Valley Humane League in Alamosa and Roist-Hurst Humane Society in Grand Junction, with the goal of helping both shelters grow their programs and services to best meet their communities’ needs. CHS Community Liaison Marissa Martino championed the project helping develop standards of care that positively impact the pets and the communities they serve. (You can read more about this relationship here.) As an animal behavior expert, one of Marissa’s first goals was to improve and expand the shelters’ behavior programs.

With Marissa working as a liaison, the two organizations developed a relationship that led to a partnership to help pets find placement between the two shelters. This is where we meet Brice, and where we get to see what an incredible impact collaboration can have when helping homeless pets in need.

Working together to help Brice the dog

Brice arrived at Valley Humane League after his owner was no longer able to care for him. He had been used as a breeder dog. The now 7-year-old dog was looking to start a new life and found himself at the shelter in Alamosa. For many dogs, including Brice, arriving at a shelter can be a new and scary development. The shelter took great care of this affectionate canine, but he was stressed, and it showed. Brice would pace around his kennel and anxiously bark at people. The staff grew concerned that he would be a challenge to place in a home in their community.

Here enters Roist-Hurst Humane Society. Like Valley Humane League, they too had worked with Marissa on developing a behavior program that focused on hands-on training with high energy and anxious dogs. The shelter in Grand Junction thought that Brice might have an easier time finding a home in their community. So, he made the journey from Alamosa.

The next steps for adoptable dog Brice

Thanks to collaboration between the shelters and both locations benefiting from Marissa’s expertise, Brice was able to receive consistent training. Thanks to this collaboration Brice is now a happy, healthy and loved pup. We are happy to announce that the sweet canine was adopted into a loving home where he will start his new, happy life.

Learn how you can support the the Colorado Humane Society’s compassionate work by visiting coloradohumanesociety.org.