Animal Services asks for help building sensory garden

Winnipeg Free Press

23-06-2025

The City of Winnipeg is counting on dog lovers to make life easier for furry companions who end up in its shelter.
Jennifer Medlicott, the communications co-ordinator at the Animal Services Agency, said there's a desperate need to create a sensory garden in the facility's outdoor play yards. The agency, at 1057 Logan Ave., generally houses more than two dozen dogs at a time.
'We're just looking for opportunities to make the lives of the animals in our care better and I just think we just saw an opportunity,' said Medlicott on Friday. 'We dream of a future where we have a large-scale transformation, but we were also trying to look at some short-term solutions and that's where the sensory garden came up.'
RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS
Sebastian, a two-year-old American Bull Dog mix, runs over one of the enrichment structures at Animal Services.
RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS
Sebastian, a two-year-old American Bull Dog mix, runs over one of the enrichment structures at Animal Services.
A sensory garden is an area designed to stimulate one or more of the five senses: sight, smell, sound, taste and touch. It incorporates trees, flowers, and any other elements in nature to help reduce stress.
She said with the help of donors, the shelter plans to add fragrant, pet-friendly plants and greenery such as lavender, chamomile, marigolds, bushes and trees for the dogs to smell and explore while walking around the yard during a short respite from being in the shelter.
Medlicott said the space is a much-needed upgrade to the four 200-square-foot play areas, which are relatively empty spaces covered in gravel and enclosed by brick fences.
'They're quite bland, to be quite honest,' she said. 'It's very beige and colourless and gives them very little opportunity to explore and look around. It needs a bit of an overhaul.'
She said adding more colour, as well as a sandbox for the dogs to feel different textures under their feet, will help them enjoy their time outside more by running around, sniffing and digging.
Medlicott said they would like to have a significant amount of the sensory garden completed by mid-July to make as much use of the nicer weather, but that a lot of the progress also depends on community support.
'We're playing it by ear a little bit, depending on the generosity of the public and maybe what comes out of this attention we're getting, but the sky is the limit,' said Medlicott.
'We're playing it by ear a little bit, depending on the generosity of the public and maybe what comes out of this attention we're getting, but the sky is the limit.'– Jennifer Medlicott, the communications co-ordinator at the Animal Services Agency
'Our agency will try and supplement the project as much as possible, but we know that Winnipeggers are very generous, especially when it comes to animals. We're just really open to whatever we receive.'
The agency is encouraging people to donate supplies such as pots, topsoil and leftover plants people may have from their home gardens.
Medlicott warns donors to make sure the plants are not poisonous, in case the dogs get curious and choose to chomp away at the leaves.
She said they're accepting monetary donations online and some contributions have trickled in already.
'It's just super heartwarming just to see how much everybody values pets. And that's Winnipeg. It's really no surprise. Just full of really generous, loving people,' Medlicott said.
'It just speaks to everything we've already known, that Winnipeggers are just awesome.'
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