Operation Solo executive director Kendra Boos isn’t in favor of keeping pet dogs outside, especially on chains, and animal advocacy groups, such as the Humane Society, agree with her. They note doing so can be physically and mentally harmful to dogs, who need consistent social interaction with humans and other animals. Chaining can harm pups’ mental health and lead to fear-based aggressive behavior.
However, Boos knows whatever the reasons not to confine dogs outside, it does sometimes happen. For the four-legged friends for whom that’s part of their life, Boos and Operation Solo try to help.
“Some people have just grown up that way, where dogs are chained outside for protection,” Boos said. “I think people chain their dogs for behavioral reasons when people don’t want them inside. It doesn’t make sense to any of us, but we just know it happens and we want them to be protected.”
The organization is named for a dog Boos, who works at Glenpark Animal Shelter in Muskegon, met through work. Solo was a chained dog in the area who lived outside throughout his life, in conditions Boos found tragic, before being housed at Glenpark. Ultimately, the dog had to be euthanized, and Boos launched the nonprofit in his honor last fall.
Operation Solo has since devoted itself to help dogs who live outside, providing shelter for the winter - igloo-shaped doghouses are popular - as well as straw to help dogs regulate their body temperatures when outside, and food and water when needed. The group has even provided flea and tick medications to dogs who need them to ward off the pests while outside. The nonprofit also offers educational outreach, encouraging alternatives to chaining dogs, and regularly gives away items like dog food to help pet owners with financial need.
The mission is to keep pets home; with local animal shelters overpopulated, Operation Solo wants to make sure pets don’t end up surrendered to shelters for lack of ability to take care of them.
Boos estimated the nonprofit gives away about 100 pounds of dog food per month, relying on local donors; it held its eighth food pantry last Saturday. (The Gnarly Heifer in Whitehall partners with Operation Solo as a drop-off location for donations.)
The group also partners with other local shelters, like Noah Project and Big Lake in Muskegon, and the Heaven Can Wait resale store, a cat-focused nonprofit that swaps dog-focused donations with Operation Solo, with Solo responding in kind when it receives donations meant for cats. Local businesses like Cadena Bros. Pizzeria in Muskegon partner with the nonprofit to help raise money as well; the pizza place launched the barbecue chicken pizza as its pizza of the month for April and will donate $2 to Operation Solo for each one sold.
Boos said the organization’s growth has been beyond her wildest expectations; she and a team of volunteers visit outside dogs around the Muskegon area each Sunday and provide them food and attention.
“It’s actually been crazy,” Boos said. “We weren’t expecting it to blow up the way it has. We started with a small group of people, and it’s caught on. They really like it. We’ve grown a ton in the seven or eight months we’ve been here. We have lots of volunteers.”
Such activities, of course, require money, and that’s how Operation Solo came to be at Biggby Coffee in March along with other small businesses selling goods for the coffee shop’s Sip n’ Shop event. Boos said she learned of the event because she loves Biggby and follows it on Facebook, and quickly signed Operation Solo up. The nonprofit spent its time there selling dog-themed car decals, t-shirts, keychains, home decorations and more. It even offered stuffed toy dogs for ‘adoption’ for little kids who might want to take them home.
Shelby Robinson, manager of the Whitehall location, said the idea came from ownership, which hosted several similar events at other Biggby stores in the area as well. She was pleased with the results.
“We thought it was a great way to promote small businesses in the community and get some customers in,” Robinson said. “We had a lot of customers come in, and the small businesses got a lot of customers buying things too.”
Other businesses represented included The Resin Lady, which creates resin art, and Emmie D’s Creations, The Creative Mitten and B&B’s Handcrafted Visions, which each offer customized items.
Robinson said more businesses reached out about being included, but the coffee shop ran out of available space. The response was such that Biggby hopes to host another such event in the future.
“We got so many messages from so many small businesses that wanted to come in,” Robinson said.
