An innovative service for our community aiming
to keep pets in their homes for life

Preventing pet relinquishment and overpopulation through innovative community outreach
(Training Wheels is a mobile community outreach program which brings the information and supplies pet owners need directly into their neighborhoods so that pets won’t become shelter statistics.)

Training Wheels - makes the Animal Protection League the number one community resource for helping people keep their pets. Until now, shelters were often the last resort when people reluctantly relinquished their animals because they lacked financial resources or access to training and health care for their pets. Training Wheels assumes that people love their pets and want to care for them to the extent their resources and abilities allow. The program helps people keep and enjoy their pets by providing them with on-the-spot, free, humane training and behavior advice, sharing information on the care of their pet, and offering free food, collars, id tags, leashes, training treats, and more.

JCAPL trained volunteers load a vehicle with donated supplies and are prepared to drive into communities where there may be pets and people in need. They stop at parks, dog walking areas, or whenever they see an animal with a person in the neighborhood. They offer a new collar or training treats, and then get to know the person and their pet. Depending on what the need may be, the volunteer or volunteer dog trainer may provide food and treats, training tips, a doghouse or other shelter, id tags, spay/neuter information or a leash or trolley.

In an effort to help pets stay with their families, JCAPL has built relationships with pet owners through phone calls from caretakers looking for advice and resources, as well as through referrals by animal control personnel. The people we have come to know love their pets and welcome assistance in a number of areas: many have wanted to have their pet spayed or neutered, but did not know about affordable services. Others are grateful for behavior advice that helps them understand and effectively manage their pet’s behavior, with the result of their pet becoming more integrated into the family and more enjoyable to them.

Training Wheels:

• Aids the community by providing basic health and humane training advice to increase the chances a pet will remain, or become further integrated into the household,
• Shares advice, information and supplies in a non-judgmental fashion,
• Unites animal welfare volunteers, dog trainers, and pet owners in a common goal,
• Helps reduce pet overpopulation by making pet sterilization possible in neighborhoods in which spaying and neutering is not commonplace,
• Focuses on treating people as well as pets with respect and kindness.
• Builds relationships with pet owners before problems seem unsolvable to them

There is ‘Smitty’, a young boy’s new puppy, who was referred by animal control in need of a doghouse. Since his first doghouse, Smitty is now in his third one, a dogloo, having outgrown the others. He could have easily become a fearful and undersocialized dog with too much time on his paws, and nothing to do. His guardian now has taught him some things, leash-walks him, and Smitty gets more exercise on his new trolley than on the chain that kept him safe before. He is scheduled to be neutered and vaccinated in a few days. He has his own Kong that his young caretaker stuffs with goodies. Smitty is turning into a beautiful dog.

Or ‘Dusty’, adopted from the Johnston County Animal Shelter, whose owner called frustrated because he kept breaking his tie-out, was taking clothes off the line, and was “wild” in the house. The scheduled neutering through the shelter had fallen through. She hoped that neutering him would calm him down. On our first visit, his owner was playing with him in the yard, and had innovatively tied him to a tire, so he could not easily run off. Dusty is a wonderful dog and was instantly trained to sit and lie down on a hand signal. The owner also took advice on how to teach him to walk on a loose leash and not pull on his walks. On a follow-up visit a few days later, Dusty was on his new LONG trolley, quite content, and sat when we approached. His owner, who loves him greatly, had continued his training and proudly announced his progress. Since then, Dusty is able to spend time in the house with better manners. He has been neutered and vaccinated and is on heartworm prevention. His owners recently moved because he – Dusty- was being harrassed by neighbors. They are also preparing for a successful adjustment to a baby that will soon arrive, with the help of advice and literature provided by JCAPL. In fact, if you see a person walking a dog with an empty stroller, they may just be practicing ‘Dusty walking alongside a stroller’… Dusty could have easily ended up being reluctantly returned to the shelter. Instead, his owners enjoy him and he has a chance to be in a lifelong home. They never wanted to have to let him go.

There are also ‘Cindy’, ‘Coco’, and ‘Jake’, three dogs left in the care of a marvelous lady with physical limitations and on a limited income after her nephew passed away. His last words to her were, “Take care of my babies”. Well, she is, and it’s no easy job. With her fence partially broken, Cindy had a nighttime visitor and as a result presented her caretaker with 10 beautiful puppies. She contacted JCAPL and other groups hoping to get help placing them into loving homes. JCAPL helped mend her fence, provided puppy shoots and deworming for them, and arranged for Cindy and Jake to be spayed and neutered, as well as vaccinated. Read about this JCAPL Training Wheels initiative. Coco, the older of the three, has not been neutered yet and needs to be tested for heartworms. (If too advanced, the surgery may not be safe for him). Thanks to a wonderful dog rescue group, “A New Leash On Life”, the puppies, at the age of over three months, ere taken into their care and placed in foster homes, spayed and neutered, and further socialized and housetrained for new homes. Three of six that had remained have now been adopted. They go to regular adoptathons until they all find homes. Prior to “New Leash” coming to the rescue, we were able to observe the owner show her instinctive leadership abilities, as she cared for the puppies in a way that was simply a delight to watch. They followed her without jumping at feeding time, as she herded them into a pen set up by JCAPL, which gave her time to clean the yard and feed the others. Without knowing, she was socializing them and cratetraining them… She continues to care for the three ‘grown-ups’. JCAPL visits periodically and works with them on basic manners and letting them run in the yard to exercise, which is difficult for the owner who is not very steady on her feet.

‘Sandy’ and ‘Jimbo’, the terrier mixes of an elderly lady who have been spayed/neutered through JCAPL’s subsidized spay-neuter program, are currently waiting for their owner to return from major surgery and rehabilitation. JCAPL volunteers are visiting the two dogs and caring for them and providing playtime over a four to five week period. The owner, who hopes to be more mobile after her surgery, could have never afforded boarding or pet sitting services for her dogs during her absence. Read about Amy Braswell's commitment to these two dogs.

JCAPL came to the rescue after a fire destroyed dog houses in a neighborhood fire. Fortunately no person or pet was injured. Read about this JCAPL Training Wheels initiative.

Nectarine, a sweet and gentle Calico cat, was suffering with an imbedded collar. Through the JCAPL Training Wheels program she was treated and cared for. She now lives with one of JCAPL's active members. Read about Nectarine and Susan Musico.

In April 2004, Mr. Bill Poole, a gentleman who has had a love for cats all of his life, contacted JCAPL , desperately trying to find help for a small feral colony he had cared for at his shop. He explained that he had begun to solicit help in December, wanting to prevent springtime breeding, which was going to bring litters of kittens. Because of significant health problems, he was no longer able to work, but kept returning to his shop to feed the cats once or twice a week, despite the fact that this had become tremendously difficult for him because of his physical limitations. After Mr. Poole familiarized us with who was who and his feeding routine, JCAPL volunteers stepped forward, and the Poole Team was formed. Susan Musico, cat foster coordinator, organized a schedule to feed the cats. A five member team rotated the visits so not to burden one individual’s time. Read how JCAPL intervened and helped with this feral colony.

JCAPL has served many other pets through “Operation Doghouse” (OPD), which originated in January of 2002. A few owners’ circumstances forced them to have to surrender their dogs, and they called JCAPL. That is the purpose of Training Wheels: to become a resource for pet owners in a variety of ways, even at a time when they cannot keep their pet.

JCAPL is in the process of forming partnerships with the Council on Aging ‘Meals on Wheels’ program and Home Health services to reach pet owners who are homebound and disabled and may need assistance with their pets. Other community partnerships, such as with the Department of Social Services, will be pursued. JCAPL hopes to further build a liaison with the animal control departments as well.

Many of the OPD dogs have been spayed and neutered. This led to JCAPL establishing a much needed subsidized spay-neuter program. So far, 45 dogs and 17 cats have benefitted from this service, and over 20 more cats and dogs are scheduled for the coming weeks. JCAPL was recently awarded its first spay-neuter grant from PetsMart Charities and is able to continue the program to reduce pet overpopulation in Johnston County, which will help approximately 45 families. New grants and support from the community are being pursued on an ongoing basis. Community donations in form of supplies for the Training Wheels program are also welcome. Collars and leashes, trolleys, doghouses, cedar shavings, kennels, crates, treats, Kong toys, and money to purchase these items or other services are needed. JCAPL welcomes new volunteers who want to be a part of this innovative program.

With many animals ending up in shelters at 1 to 2 years of age, their adolescent period, when behaviors change, and thereby greatly contributing to the number of animals entering shelters, being able to prevent or correct behavior problems and provide training before problems arise will prevent companion animals from being surrendered or abandoned. The next step will be to implement the ‘Train-To-Adopt’ Program, giving animals a chance to develop desirable behaviors and maintain their emotional well being to make them more adoptable and to increase their chances at a lifelong home.

This page was updated December 8, 2004