Project Pooch

Project Pooch Project POOCH provides life-changing opportunities for adjudicated youth and shelter dogs. Project POOCH, Inc.

Project POOCH has successfully paired hundreds of youth incarcerated at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn, Oregon, with homeless shelter dogs since 1993. Youths (guided by professionals) learn to train the dogs, groom them, and find them new adoptive forever homes. The dogs leave the program ready to be great pets, while their trainers re-enter the community with new job and persona

l skills and increased compassion and respect for all life. is recognized by the IRS as a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization, Tax ID # 93-1252054 – donations are tax-deductible.

When Malik came to Project POOCH, he didn't know what to do with all of his energy. His pulling while on leash and his b...
12/30/2025

When Malik came to Project POOCH, he didn't know what to do with all of his energy. His pulling while on leash and his big bark could be off-putting to those who didn't realize that he was just a big softie. The youth quickly realized that Malik was most calm when he had a stuffie. It became a rule at the kennel that wherever Malik was, he needed to have access to at least one stuffie—his favorite was a giant blue dinosaur (sometimes he would even carry it while on a walk!).

The youth were patient with Malik. Practicing exiting doors calmly. Restarting if he got overexcited. Working with him on his reactivity to cats by being attentive and redirecting him as they walked through "cat alley." And they made sure he got plenty of snuggles, treats, and praise along the way.

Despite Malik's progress, there was little interest in him when he became available for adoption. A follower of POOCH's donated a DNA test, thinking that someone might be more interested in him if they knew his breed (61% German Shepherd Dog, 29% Australian Cattle Dog, 10% Belgian Malinois).

And then, just like magic, the perfect application arrived. A family who had recently lost their dog saw Malik on Instagram and thought he might be the perfect fit. A meet & greet at our kennel, followed by a home visit, and 189 days after arriving at Project POOCH, Malik had a family to call his own.

From Malik's Family:
We lost Doc, our family dog of 16 years in June. Doc was a really important member of our family and we planned to give ourselves lots of time to grieve such a big loss.

We follow Project Pooch on Instagram and had noticed Malik in the weeks after losing Doc. There was something about his energy that felt familiar and called to us, so we decided to go meet him. When we went to meet him, we knew that even though the timing might not be perfect, the dog was. It was almost as if Doc had sent him to us. We had too much love to give to pass him up. We're a pretty high-energy family with three elementary- and middle-school-age kids. Malik is a smart, snuggly, high-energy dog who loves hiking, swimming, walking, playing ball, etc... We also have a free-roaming, 9-pound rabbit, which could be a problem for many prey-driven dog breeds. Luckily, Project Pooch sent over a trainer to discuss techniques for helping to integrate Malik and Shendy the Bunny. It's a work in progress, but we feel very hopeful about their ability to be interspecies friends :)

It's the LAST BIG GIVE DAY! We are currently at 62% of our goal with just 40 hours to go. Help us get across the finish ...
12/30/2025

It's the LAST BIG GIVE DAY! We are currently at 62% of our goal with just 40 hours to go. Help us get across the finish line with a donation today!

Every $10+ donation is one entry, and there’s no limit to how many times you can give! ⚡️

Quick specs:

🏆 1 winner today

🎭 Two vouchers for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (plus a tour of their production facility!), a one-night stay at the Ashland Springs Hotel, and a $100 gift card to the Noble Fox restaurant

Ok! We’ve caved! Sydney is just hanging out being called a pitsky.. but what if she is something that someone has always...
12/30/2025

Ok! We’ve caved! Sydney is just hanging out being called a pitsky.. but what if she is something that someone has always been looking for? So DNA test here we come 🧬 We know this won’t change who Syd from the silly, loving girl we already know, but hopefully it can help someone see that she is what has been missing in their life.

Every adoption is special. Every single dog that comes through our doors deserves the perfect forever home where they wi...
12/30/2025

Every adoption is special. Every single dog that comes through our doors deserves the perfect forever home where they will be adored. But some dogs' adoptions hit a little bit harder. The pups who are with us for an exceptionally long time, or who overcome significant obstacles on their way to their home. Vivienne, now Ivy, was both.

When Ivy first came to Project POOCH on June 10, 2024, she was frightened. It took us almost an hour to get her out of our car in the parking lot and transfer her into the POOCH van to come into our kennel. Ivy was scared of cars, scared of a harness, scared of thresholds—she was just scared. Sometimes at night, it would take 30–40 minutes to get her into her kennel. Painstakingly laying down a treat trail to get her across the threshold and inside. To build a relationship with Ivy, you had to put in the WORK. The youth felt such a sense of pride and accomplishment when they taught her a new skill or helped her work through her fear.

Ivy had a few home visits that were aborted due to her fears. One that resulted in us picking her up at midnight to bring her back to the kennel.

But what we helped the youth learn from these home visits is that they weren't failures. Each one was an opportunity to learn more about Ivy's needs to help lead us to her forever home.

And in March 2025, that home appeared. A couple who had adopted from us previously and followed us on Instagram noticed that Ivy had been with us for a while. They thought she would be quickly adopted and were surprised when she was still with us. After a phone conversation about her personality, their wants in a dog, and their current dog, we set up a meet & greet at the kennel. That visit was a success, and the home visit was scheduled. While she was a bit nervous at first, within a week, the family knew they wanted to keep her. On March 24, 2025, 288 days after coming to Project POOCH, Ivy was officially home.

Ivy is one of our many successes from this year, and a great example of the power of Project POOCH. Ivy received time, dedication, and love from our team at POOCH to help her become the best version of herself, so she could find her family.

We are pretty sure Sydney would excel at riding a bike if we let her. Alas, we require her to use her own four feet to n...
12/29/2025

We are pretty sure Sydney would excel at riding a bike if we let her. Alas, we require her to use her own four feet to navigate the world. That means you get to have all the fun! Because today is Big E-BIKE Day! That's right, donations of $10 or more today will be entered to win an amazing prize package from ! Don't sleep on this one. Someone has to win, and it could be you!

The prize: 2025 Tern HSD S00 e-bike with Smart Bosch System, 545 WH battery, and 396-lb weight capacity. One size fits all (mostly) design so winner can pick up their new e-bike right away!

Help support life-changing opportunities for shelter dogs and incarcerated youth today!

Meet Cupcake. One of the coolest and most special dogs. Project POOCH is a lifesaver—and we mean that literally—for Cupc...
12/28/2025

Meet Cupcake. One of the coolest and most special dogs. Project POOCH is a lifesaver—and we mean that literally—for Cupcake. In a traditional shelter, where we got Cupcake, he was very stressed. You see, Cupcake struggles with barrier reactivity. He doesn't like being behind a barrier where he can't get to people—because he loves them so much! What that looks like is a big, black dog standing on his hind legs up against a gate and using his big bark when people come by his kennel. This means his likelihood of finding a home in a traditional shelter is practically zero. People don't want to adopt the 85lb dog that barks at them as they walk by. They think he is scary. They don't realize he is a giant cuddlebug.

Project POOCH has been life altering for this gentle giant. Once we adjusted him to a non-traditional setup and he doesn't spend any time in a kennel, his FAS (Fear, Anxiety, Stress, and Frustration) stays in the green (good) zone. He's relaxed, learning new skills, meeting new people, and dreaming of his perfect home. The Project POOCH youth have learned so much working with Cupcake. They've witnessed the complete change in his personality once we figured out how to meet his emotional needs, and they have learned how you can truly change behavior when you learn to listen to what a dog is trying to tell you. And as they see Cupcake's behavior change, they learn that they can change too.

Love Books? Shaggy loved to eat them. That's OK, we won't judge. You can read them, eat them, or use them as a doorstop;...
12/27/2025

Love Books? Shaggy loved to eat them. That's OK, we won't judge. You can read them, eat them, or use them as a doorstop; it doesn't matter to us! It just matters that you love what we do at Project POOCH, and you love Powell's Books, Inc,. and you want to help provide life-changing opportunities to incarcerated youth and shelter dogs. Facebook's algorithms don't like it when we include links, so if you want to donate, we think you know how to find us on Give Guide, and if you don't, comment, and we will get you there!

Every $10+ donation is one entry, and there’s no limit to how many times you can give. 📚 If you’re 35 and under: you have a second chance to win!

Quick specs:
🏆 🏆 2 winners today
🔖A $500 gift card to legendary Powell’s Books
🔖A second $500 gift card for donors aged 35U

From POOCH dogs to yours, Merry Christmas! As we wind down for the night and work on getting settled, we wanted to exten...
12/26/2025

From POOCH dogs to yours, Merry Christmas!

As we wind down for the night and work on getting settled, we wanted to extend our gratitude to all of our community, without which we wouldn’t be able to help the dogs we have this year. (Especially for all those who have donated through where your donation can pay you back)

Today the dogs got some extra sunshine, and lots of extra cuddles. For adoptables Cupcake and Sydney, we sent out some Christmas wishes for homes of their own!

Taking meds can be hard. For pups who are on daily meds, it is important to keep things interesting and NEVER force the ...
12/24/2025

Taking meds can be hard. For pups who are on daily meds, it is important to keep things interesting and NEVER force the meds on them. Our most recent approach with Cupcake is a "meatball" of wet food. He gets a bite of wet food without medication, then a bite with medication, then a final bite without. He still sometimes spits out the pill, and if that happens, we simply give it in another try. We keep the energy light to keep him relaxed so he doesn't begin to get nervous around pill time.

The youth are trained to administer meds (under staff supervision), and they are really proud of the skill.

Keep the support for Project POOCH going by making a donation at tinyurl.com/giveguideprojectpooch today!

12/22/2025

Veterinary care is a part of every POOCH dog's journey to their new home! We work with Woodburn and Sequoia Veterinary Clinics to get our dogs in tip-top adoptable shape. An orchiectomy (otherwise known as neuter) is a common occurance for our dogs from the shelter. We also can provide dental care on top of our basic vaccines, pest prevention, and microchipping. All of this adds up, and our community steps up with monetary donations that helps us help all the dogs who have and will come through Project POOCH's doors.

Tis the season for where you can earn incentives, or even be entered to win prizes, for donating to Project POOCH. More information on how to help can be found on our website!

Address

15800 Boones Ferry Road, Ste A2
Lake Oswego, OR
97035

Telephone

+15036970623

Website

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