Announcements

For the third year in a row, Green Chimneys has received a grant from the Petco Foundation’s Helping Heroes in-store fundraising campaign in partnership with Natural Balance. This year’s increased grant of $7,500 recognizes the value of Green Chimneys’ engaging Dog Interaction Program and enables us to keep it strong.
Piloted in 2014, the Dog Interaction Program has become a popular – and permanent – addition to Green Chimneys’ animal-assisted therapy program. Under a professional trainer’s supervision, our students help socialize shelter dogs, thus, improving their chances for adoption. During their 6-week training session, the canine “students” live on campus 24/7 and have frequent contact with our children and staff. You can see them visiting class rooms, participating in therapy sessions, enjoying time with teens at our Arbor House shelter and even “starring” in off-campus events including hospital visits.
To date, we’ve had 92 canine “graduates” and nearly all them have found permanent loving homes. The adopting families, students and Green Chimneys staff have all benefited and we’re quite certain, based on their frisky and friendly behavior that the dogs have as well. A few quotes say it all:
We are so grateful to the Petco Foundation for their support of this innovative program.
Learn more about our Dog Interaction Program
There’s a reason this Russian Tortoise looks so iconic; it’s one of the most popular breeds sold in pet stores. This gentleman arrived at the Green Chimneys Wildlife Center as a rescue and secured a regular role in the classroom, helping students study the differences between tortoises and turtles; tortoises dwell on land, while turtles live in the water some or nearly all of the time. He has a reputation for being very active and outgoing and on warm, sunny days, the students take him outside to search for dandelion leaves to eat.