RAL’s Real Room
This is the true story...of shelter dogs...picked to hang out in a room...and have their behavior observed...to find out what happens...when dogs stop being scared...and start getting real...The Real Room.
Shelter life can be hard for pets. The shelter is noisy, smelly, and full of unfamiliar people and animals. We do everything possible to make our shelter as pleasant as possible, but it is still uncomfortable for many animals.
To give the dogs in our care a break from their kennels, we take them for walks, give them solo playtime in our backyard, and if they get along with other dogs, they get playtime with other pups in our doggie play yards. We also offer them enrichment toys in their kennels like Kongs and Nylabones.
Those things are great, but sometimes dogs need something more; they need indoor decompression time, relaxation time, or they need to get more socialized with humans. In comes “The Real Room.”
The Real Room is a room we have set up to resemble a living room in someone’s home. There is a rug, couch, and dog beds. This is a space that doesn’t feel like the shelter anymore, and the dogs will be more comfortable. This room allows them to relax in a way they just can’t in their kennel.
In this space, the dogs can cuddle up in a bed or on the couch, enjoy a toy or bone, or snuggle up with a person, if they want.
Dogs who need more socialization with humans can chill out in whatever space they want in the Real Room while the human is just there. They may read aloud to the dog or sit quietly with them. This allows the dog to get used to being in the same space as a human without anything negative or scary happening. Over time, they will learn that humans mean no harm and become more comfortable around people.
The Real Room is also a place where our staff can decompress. Working with stressed animals all day can also be stressful for the people (surprise!).
Time in the Real Room just hanging out with a dog can also be a great stress relief for the humans who work here. Especially if they can see an ordinarily anxious dog relax or even come out of their shell and show us that they are a big goof, not a ball of anxiety.
We recently renovated The Real Room to make it even more inviting. We repainted the walls a soothing blue and added a rug, couch, and chairs. We hung fun pictures on the walls (mainly for the people using the room to enjoy) and have all the comforts of home we can provide in a shelter environment.
There will be some additional improvements to make the room look and feel even more like a room in a home, so our RAL pets will be more comfortable spending time there, and we can better prepare them for their new lives after adoption. Some of the pets in our care have likely never lived indoors before, so The Real Room serves as a way to get them comfortable with being indoors and interacting with furniture and other new “human stuff.”
We are so excited to continue improving our Real Room and see what a difference it can make in the lives of our RAL pets.
