The SPCA of Texas’ Jan Rees-Jones Animal Care Center is excited to unveil the all-new Enrichment program, otherwise known as Yappy Hour!

From 5 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., volunteers will prepare and distribute fun enrichment items designed to stimulate our shelter animals’ curiosity.

Enrichment is vital to keeping our shelter pets happy and healthy. Shelter animals, especially long-term residents, are susceptible to boredom, anxiety and depression. Giving them a new, interesting item, treat or activity that engages their sense of smell, taste, touch, sound and sight each day keeps them mentally engaged with their environment while they wait for their forever homes.

We invite anyone who is particularly crafty, or enjoys baking or even research, to join us for Yappy Hour! Whether you want to construct fun toys out of household items, make tasty treat recipes or just help us track our animals’ reactions to each activity, we welcome you to sign up to become a volunteer today.

Don’t have time to volunteer, but want to help anyway? We will always need reusable household items, as well as various food items to entice our critters to play with. We would greatly appreciate donations of any of the following items to either our Dallas or McKinney locations:

· Graham Crackers

· Apple Sauce

· Apple Juice

· Apples

· Peanut Butter

· Boullion Cubes

· Squeeze Cheese

· Canned tuna

· Canned chicken

· Bananas

· Plain yogurt

· Light Cream Cheese

· Small paper dixie cups

· 1 Gallon Zip Lock Bags

· Lavender Essential Oil

· Chamomile Essential Oil

· Herbs (Basil, Oregano, Rosemary, Peppermint, Ginger, Sage, Thyme)

· Catnip

· Cat Grass

· Apple corers

· Scissors

· Plastic Easter egg shells

· Spray bottles

· Newspaper

· Empty tissue boxes

· Toilet paper or paper towel rolls

· Shoe boxes or tissue boxes

· Wine corks

· Leftover string or twine

· Leftover gift wrap or tissue

· Leftover party decorations

· Shredded paper

Curious about making enrichment items for your own pet? Stay tuned to the blog, as we’ll be featuring DIY tutorials on how to craft some of these awesome toys and treats!