Shelter dogs can often find themselves under a lot of stress — struggling to find a sense of belonging and happiness. But a volunteer team from Burnaby is working tirelessly to help change that.
A team of 40 volunteers from Burnaby-based Landscape Industry Accredited Company, Para Space, will be building a sensory playground for the shelter dogs at the Langley Animal Protection Society (LAPS) this weekend to create a safe and stimulating environment for dogs to play — both physically and mentally.
Para Space marketing co-ordinator Catherine Deacon said the dogs require a safe space for indulging in both physical and mental exercises.
“That can be smelling different things,” Deacon said. “Especially for shelter dogs, having different obstacles to walk through [can] build confidence.”
The area, which will include a bark mulch pathway, a pergola with bench, privacy hedging to block out the loud traffic from Highway 1 and four "doggie playground" items, is intended to enrich the daily lives of the dogs in their care.
She added that the newly improved space is also going to be used as a place for families who want to adopt to meet and greet the dogs in a safe environment.
“We're building a sandbox because some dogs like to dig," she said. "We're giving them that space to dig and enrich their mental state. We're also building a table that they can jump on and play. Dogs dogs like to move up and down and have that kind of [physical activity]. Especially with the shelter dogs, they’re in the kennels for most of the day, they get to go for a walk, but they don't have an open space to play. So this is going to be a really important part for the dog's well being before they get adopted."
Every year, the landscape company works on a portfolio of diverse projects for an annual day of service as part of its community outreach program. From working with hospitals to cleaning up the Girl Guides camp on the Sunshine Coast, the Burnaby based team engages in goodwill projects with partners all over Metro Vancouver and British Columbia.
The closed annual event will be held at the Langley Animal Protection services this weekend — and will involve the volunteers and their families interacting and building this safe space for shelter dogs before they find their forever homes. The playground elements are expected to be completed on April 28 by the team.
