Enrichment Program – Mental Health affects their chance for a happy home.
The Houston Humane Society is a safe haven for thousands of homeless and abused pets in Houston.
Our main priority is to help improve and enhance our shelter pet’s mental health and standard of care. Proving to lead to more adoptions.
Our main priority is to help improve and enhance our shelter pet’s mental health and standard of care. Proving to lead to more adoptions.
All shelter animals benefit from enrichment programs helping them to become more adoptable. They can also be especially valuable for long term residents and high energy pets who tend to deteriorate quickly in their kennels.
There are many behaviors that can make finding a pet their perfect home more challenging. Animals in shelters can become bored or even begin to suffer from another condition commonly known as “Kennel Crazy”.
Opportunities for sensory, cognitive, and physical stimulation help overcome and eliminate these challenging behaviors, improving the pet’s chances for a happy home!
Donate to our Enrichment Program
You can help save lives by donating to our enrichment program, which will provide more creative and efficient ways to keep our adoptable pets mentally healthy and ready to be a part of their forever families.
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From puzzle toys, special treats, training, and even snuggling, all these supplies help enrich the lives of pets in need!
Drop off donations in person at the shelter during normal operating hours: 14700 Almeda Rd., Houston TX 77053
Join the Enrichment Team
Dogs, cats, and mini mammals need you to ensure their time at Houston Humane Society is as fun and mentally stimulating as possible while they wait for their forever home!
Enriching shelter pet’s day-to-day lives involves many helping hands. Enrichment Volunteers will help prepare and conduct enrichment activities.
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Enrichment days are Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
2 shifts are available 11am-1pm and 1pm 3pm.
Large Dog Enrichment
Small Dog Enrichment
Cat Enrichment
Mini Mammal Enrichment
Email volunteer@houstonhumane.org or text 713-433-6421 for more information.
Enrichment at Home
The shelter environment can be stressful for animals but enrichment is not only for shelter pets, these activities can easily apply to your pets at home!
Does your pet stay in a kennel while you’re at work during the day? Daily enrichment for your pet at home helps their quality of life! Adding a bit of time, love, care, and planning activities for your pet at home helps your pet become socially knowledgeable and friendly around pets and people. Nutritional enrichment also helps with resource guarding and excessive barking, resulting in less bite cases and overall aggression!
Enrichment for Exotic Pets
Enrichment boils down to anything that makes an animal’s life more interesting and engaging. It helps animals stay happy, healthy, and engaged. It gives them chances to play, explore, and express their natural behaviors—just like their wild counterparts would!
Providing toys, puzzles, new scents, or training games keeps their minds active and bodies moving. Enrichment also reduces stress, prevents boredom, and helps build confidence, especially for animals in shelters or new homes.
A well-enriched animal is a healthier, calmer, and more content companion—ready to thrive in their forever home!
Enrichment doesn’t have to be expensive! It can be DIY’d from recyclable materials such as non-glossy cardboard, packing paper, and paper tubes. Cardboard is an extremely versatile material. Plain boxes with tape and labels removed can be made into hides or dig boxes. Tubes can be fashioned into simple puzzle toys by hiding treats/food inside. Packing paper makes a great filler for dig or forage boxes, crumpled up with treats sprinkled throughout.
Types of Enrichment
Social Enrichment
Supervised play groups
Dog walks
Pooltime
Nutritional Enrichment
Puzzle feeders
Snuffle mats
Kongs
Licky mats
Pupsicles
Occupational Enrichment
A game of fetch
Agility obstacle
Teach a dog tricks
Sensory Enrichment
Puppy/Kitty music playlist
Bubbles
Painting
Physical Enrichment
Ramps/Steps
Sports