PAWS Around Town

Take one of our beloved shelter dogs out on an adventure of your choosing.

About

the PAWS Around Town Program

While our shelter dogs get regular yard time and walks in their daily routine, there is no substitute for public interaction. By taking them out for just a few hours a day, you are helping our temporary residents exert pent up energy and get some mental stimulation by experiencing new places and people! We hope that as a result of the PAWS Around Town program, our dogs will be less anxious and exuberant when they meet potential adopters. We also hope they gain useful life skills they normally wouldn’t learn from just sitting and waiting around in the shelter. 

Program Manual

FAQs

No. Our Dog Care team will assess suitability for participation in the program. We may have dogs that are unable to participate due to health or behavioral reasons. Some dogs may be available with restrictions. For example, if we have a dog who is reactive to other dogs, that dog may be available for some activities but not those where it is likely to encounter other dogs. While this program is primarily for the benefit of our on-site kenneled dogs, fostered dogs may be eligible on a case-by-case basis.

In most cases, yes. We want your adoption to be a success and this is a good way to get to know the dog better.

Yes, as long it also meets the safety criteria. 

We offer general suggestions for dog-friendly places and adventures in the Program Manual. We may also be able to provide ideas specific to an individual dog based on their likes and dislikes. You will need to stay within 2 hours of PAWS of Grays Harbor and remain within the state of Washington.

A sleepover option may be available after successful participation in a regular day adventure. We will need approved home check photos prior to a sleepover, just as we do for fosters and adopters. The home check photos are meant to help point out safety concerns in order to keep our dogs healthy and happy.

You can ask for a specific dog and we will accommodate this request whenever possible but you do not need to have a dog in mind. Once you’ve filled out the application to participate, we can suggest a potential match.

Maybe. We do require at least one handler per dog so you would need a second handler available for the entirety of the adventure. Not all of our dogs are candidates to go out with a buddy though siblings are often a good option. Our Dog Care team will assess suitability for participation on a case-by-case basis.