Humane Education & Tours

Part of Greenhill's mission is to promote the humane treatment of animals. Experience the incredible work Greenhill does every day by taking a tour. Or schedule a presentation for your school or organization to learn more about the importance of compassion and kindness of animals and the people who love them from a Humane Educator.

Tours

We offer virtual or in-person small group tours of our newly remodeled state of the art facility. Tours include:

To sign up for a shelter tour, please email fill out a shelter tour request at the button below. 

Presentations

We invite students and organizations to learn about the services, resources and opportunities Greenhill provides the animals of Lane County via an in-person or virtual presentation. We also offer Humane Education presentations to students of ALL AGES on topics like: 

For more information or to request a presentation, please call 541-689-1503 x 134.

Help the animals with crafting!

Give back to the animals through crafting! Open the windows below for craft instructions or click the button to download a PDF version of the craft guide.

Thank you so much for making toys for the animals of Greenhill! Your wonderful creations will bring joy and fun
to the animals while they wait for their forever families! Please do not use any of the following items which may
present a danger to the animals:
 Expired food products
 Toxic glue or materials
 Glitter
 Items that may become loose, which an animal may
swallow, including bells, trinkets, beads, etc.
 String that may fray or be swallowed.

If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to ask by contacting community@green-hill.org.

From: Martha Stewart Kids
Looking for a quick pet-friendly project for a child? This simple catnip toy takes
just minutes to make while providing fun for kids and cats alike.

 

Instructions:

STEP 1 Roll an 8 1/2-by-11-inch piece of paper into a cone for a funnel; secure
with tape. Insert funnel into sock, and fill halfway with catnip. Knot sock just
above filling.
STEP 2 Using a non-toxic marker, give it some fun eyes and a mouth.

Materials:
• Cardboard Scraps • Scissors
• Twine
• Hole-punch

 

 

Instructions:
STEP 1 Cut cardboard into small pieces no larger than 2”x 2”.
STEP 2 Hole punch the center of each piece of cardboard.
STEP 3 Cut Twine into 4” strands.
STEP 4 Stack 6 to 8 pieces of cardboard. Feed twine through the center tie off
each end.
STEP 5 Cut off any extra Twine on each end.

Materials:
• Toilet Paper Rolls
• Hot Glue Gun
• Hot Glue Sticks
• Small Box
• Shredded Paper

Instructions:

Option 1
STEP 1 Glue toilet paper rolls together in the form of a pyramid.
STEP 2 Hide cat treats, small toys, or even shredded paper with sprinkled Catnip.
Option 2
STEP 3 Take a small box and glue ends of tubes to the inside of the box.
STEP 4 Hide cat treats, small toys, or even shredded paper with sprinkled Catnip.
For storage reasons please call shelter to see what current needs are.

Materials:
• Fleece
• Fabric Scissors
• Yard Stick

 

Instructions:
STEP 1 Using yard stick cut three to six strips of fleece.
STEP 2 Gather strips of fleece and tie large knot at one end.
STEP 3 Separate fleece strips into three sections then braid… leave enough fleece at the other end to tie knot.
Note: Fleece braids can vary in width and length. Do try to keep the length under 2 feet for cats and about 3 feet for dogs.

Add to the fun and create an “Enrichment Scent Toy” for dogs with the fleece braid!! Make a home-made rope toys and leave it somewhere outside that gets lots of smells like their garden, maybe take it with you on a walk and dip it in the river, whatever you do with it, let it sit for a while collecting the smell and make sure it is dry before you bring it back. Then, put it in a plastic bag with a note on where it’s been so when we give it to the dogs we know roughly what kind of extra smells they are getting. They don’t get to sniff stuff like that here so it’s a lot of fun for them. 

Materials:
• Recycled box (no larger than 24”x24”)
• Tape
• X-ACTO or Utility Knife
• Pipe Cleaners (or other fun craft items)
• Hot Glue Gun
• Hot Glue Sticks

 

 

 

 

Instructions:
STEP 1 Cut out small opening all over box (Small enough for the cat to not get stuck, but big enough so that kitty paws don’t get stuck)
STEP 2 Tape together all seams of the box.
STEP 3 For extra fun add Pipe Cleaners or other fun items to the outside of the box. Decorate, decorate, decorate… the more “things” you attach… the more fun the cat will have!
No cat toys handy to hide? Use cat treats, crumple up a small wad of newspaper with catnip inside. Ping pong balls and craft puff balls make great substitutes as well.

Materials:
• Old Medium to Large T-Shirts
• Wire Hangers
• Roughly 15” x 15”x 3” Cardboard Box (Or lids for filing boxes)
• Tape
• Hair Ties
• Wire Cutters or Pliers

Instructions:
STEP 1 Cut the hooks off hangers and shape the wires into arcs.
STEP 2 Poke a small hole in all four corners of your box.
STEP 3 “Criss-Cross” hangers and tape together at the top to form a tent like frame.
STEP 4 Poke the four ends of the hanger frame down through the four holes in your box. On the bottom of the box bend the wires over and tape to the bottom of box.
STEP 5 Pull the T-shirt over the frame and position the shirt so that the neck hole is in the front middle to create a door.
STEP 6 Pull all loose fabric, fold over and gather with hair tie so that there is only one opening to the tent. *Make sure that hair ties are hidden and secure.

Materials:
• 18-inch x 18 -inch piece of fleece
• Tennis ball
• Scissors

Instructions:

STEP 1 Lay the piece of fleece flat and cut a rectangle about 6 inches x 4 inches
from each corner.

STEP 2 Cut 6-inch strips that are about 1-inch wide all the way around as shown.

 

STEP 3 Place the tennis ball into the center of the fleece and gather it up tightly. Then, tie a scrap piece of fleece around it as tight as you can in a knot.

STEP 4 Make thick braids for the dog to chew on, so use 6 strips to make the braids. As you section the strips for braids, you might need to cut them higher up to the ball. Start with 6-inch strips, just so you have enough to cover the ball and then cut them higher as needed.

STEP 5 Once braided to the end, tie a knot at the end.

STEP 6 Do this until you run out of strips. Since you cut strips randomly, sometimes you will end up with 8 braided legs, and sometimes you will end up with just 5 or 6 braided legs. No matter how it turns out, it is still a great toy!

A snuffle mat is a popular nose work, brain game. It consists of fleece fabric strips tied onto a sturdy backing. You hide dog treats inside the fleece — behind the many folds and even deep inside where the fleece meets the backing — for your dog to sniff out, find, and then eat.

The idea behind this simple yet genius game is to mimic the foraging and hunting activities our dogs’ wild ancestors engaged in on a regular basis.

From developing puppies to aging seniors, this enrichment toy is perfect for all dogs!

Supplies:

Base – You’ve got a couple of options:

A rubber sink mat is perhaps your best bet because it’s sturdy and already has perfectly placed holes.

Or, if you don’t have a sink mat and would like to make this project today, you can use a cardboard box. Use a box cutter or scissor to carefully cut one solid piece of cardboard. Then, with a Sharpie, mark your cardboard with rows of dots, one-inch apart. Using a screwdriver, follow the dots and punch holes through the cardboard. Voilá — a makeshift base that works just as well!

Fleece – I like to use two colors to create variation. The exact amount will depend on the size of your mat and the width of the strips you cut. I used some cheap fleece blankets, like the ones below!

Scissors – To cut the fleece into strips

Mini screwdriver, skewer stick, or capped pen (optional) – To help easily push the fabric through the base.

Instructions:

STEP 1 Cut the fleece into strips. Aim to get your strips 1″ wide by 6-8″ long. This doesn’t have to be perfect. Some can be a little longer or shorter than others. For my 12.5″ x 11″ sink mat, I needed 260 strips. (So, 130 strips of each color if you are following my same pattern)

STEP 2 Weave the fleece strips through the mat, starting with a hole in the upper corner. Take one end of a fleece strip and push it through the hole closest to the mat’s edge. Then, push the opposite end through the very next hole. Flip the mat over and tie a single knot (no need for a double knot).

STEP 3 Moving in the same direction, repeat Step #2 until the entire mat is covered with fleece. Up until this point, you’ll want to stick to one color.

STEP 4 With your second fleece color, repeat Step #2 and Step #3 in the opposite direction. Since there will be a lot of fleece on the mat by this time, you may want to use a mini screwdriver, skewer stick, or capped pen to help you easily push the fabric through.

 

  When you’re done weaving and tying, the front and back should look like this

And it should look like this on the other side. Great job!