06/11/2026
🧩 Enrichment Matters! 🐾
This Tuesday, several of our staff members and volunteers participated in a wonderful training focused on one of the most important aspects of shelter animal care: enrichment.
While food, water, shelter, and medical care are essential, our animals also need opportunities to exercise their minds, engage their natural instincts, and experience positive, rewarding activities throughout the day.
Enrichment helps reduce stress, boredom, and frustration while encouraging problem-solving, confidence-building, and healthy behaviors. For animals living in a shelter environment, these activities can make a tremendous difference in their overall well-being.
One thing we learned is that enrichment comes in many forms. We are incorporating a variety of activities to engage different senses and interests, including food-based enrichment, puzzle toys, frozen treats, scent activities, music and calming sounds, novel toys and objects, and opportunities for exploration and play. Just like people, animals benefit from variety, and changing up their daily activities helps keep them mentally stimulated and engaged.
Following our training, every animal in the building received a special enrichment activity. Dogs enjoyed peanut butter-covered frisbees to lick and explore, while our cats received frozen treat puzzles that were especially refreshing on a warm day. Watching them investigate, lick, sniff, solve, and enjoy these treats was incredibly rewarding!
We're excited to share that we have now implemented a daily enrichment schedule so our shelter residents can continue receiving these important opportunities every day.
‼️How Can You Help?
We're looking to build a dedicated team of Enrichment Volunteers for our dogs, cats, or both! You don't need any special experience or even a lot of time—just a love for animals and a desire to help improve their lives. Volunteers can:
🐾 Prepare enrichment activities and treats
🐾 Fill frozen molds and puzzle feeders
🐾 Smear peanut butter on frisbees, lick mats, and toys
🐾 Stuff treat puzzles and enrichment toys
🐾 Help distribute enrichment throughout the shelter
🐾 Come up with creative new enrichment ideas
🐾 Assist with monitoring and cleaning enrichment items
Even a small amount of time can make a huge difference for our animals.
🙌We Also Need Donations!
To keep our enrichment program growing, we're looking for supplies such as:
🦴 Dog treats of all kinds
🐱 Cat treats and lickable treats
🥜 Peanut butter (xylitol-free only)
🥣 Plain yogurt
🎃 Canned pumpkin (plain, not pie filling)
🍎 Unsweetened applesauce
🫐 Blueberries and other pet-safe fruits for frozen treats
🥕 Carrots and other dog-safe vegetables
🥫 Canned dog and cat food for stuffing enrichment toys
🧊 Ice cube trays and silicone molds
🐾 KONG toys and treat-dispensing toys
🧩 Puzzle feeders for dogs and cats
🥏 Frisbees and durable enrichment toys
🧻 Paper towel and toilet paper tubes
📦 Small cardboard boxes and paper bags
🧶 Cat toys, wand toys, and kickers
Every donation, every volunteer hour, and every enrichment activity helps make shelter life a little less stressful and a lot more enjoyable for the animals waiting for homes. Thank you for helping us care not only for their physical needs, but also for their emotional and mental well-being. ❤️
Interested in becoming an enrichment volunteer? Send us a message or stop by the shelter to learn more!
Saginaw County Animal Care & Control
📍 5615 Bay Rd., Saginaw, MI 48604
📧 [email protected] | ☎️ (989) 797-4500
