Manatee County shelter dogs could use big bones for calming

I am a volunteer at Manatee County Animal Shelter. Our dog census in 170 dogs for 80 cages. We’re giving these abandoned strays and victims of cruelty as much love as we can.

We give them a brief walk, sit with them in our play yards for 15-20 minutes while they spend most of their 23 1/2 hours in a cage for months at a time. Some have been with us over a year. We’d give them more time but we’re short staffed.

For Christmas we hung each one a real stocking, only thing is they were empty. Could you find it in your heart to drop off some large Nyla bones? They can be found online or in stores. They chew on these for days, which helps relieve their stress.

I know many of you just don’t have the time to give them the love and attention they need, but this insurmountable act of kindness would help them dearly. They’ll even reach out of their cages with their paws to thank you.

This story was originally published December 25, 2016 at 4:58 PM with the headline "Manatee County shelter dogs could use big bones for calming."