SBACC uses Facebook to reach residents, help keep dogs with families

You’ve adopted a dog, but taking care of that dog is a little more work than you thought. That’s ok, South Bend Animal Care and Control says they're here to help. But this time, they're hoping to teach the owner how to understand the dog.

Feel like you know your dog pretty well? Good! But what if your dog is having behavioral issues and you don’t know why?

“During Christmas time is a big time people wanna surprise their children with kittens and puppies. We have a lot of dogs that are returned or surrendered to the shelter because they have issues with their dogs that they have no idea how to correct,” said Jenn Gobel, Manager at South Bend Animal Care and Control.

Employees at South Bend Animal Care and Control are taking to… Facebook?

“We created a poll to kinda get a feel for what the community would feel about if the shelter offered classes that would help them address some of the behavioral issues,” said Gobel.

You can vote for the cost of that class as well as where the classes should be held.

The goal of that poll:

“Help people keep their dogs in their homes,” said Gobel.

But what’s new, they’re not looking to do any training here.

“The dog is only doing what you allow it to do, so we have to change the mindset of the owner, not necessarily the mindset of the dog,” said Gobel.

They just want to see a few more happy homes this season.

“They are great breeds but you have to understand the breeds and the uniqueness of them. Just a couple few extra steps that they can do will help make their dog happier, make their family life happier and home life happier,” said Gobel.

With enough feedback, organizers are hoping to begin those classes in January and run about twice a month. Gobel says people won’t actually need to bring their dogs in since it will be more of a Q and A class.

Gobel also says you can attend as many times as you need.

Click here for the poll on Facebook.