Today was our last day of camp. After a fun night celebrating their last night together, the campers woke up and packed up their air mattresses and tents to get ready for the day.

After walking their dogs, they headed out to Dunkin to grab some breakfast.

Then, it was time to hang out with the dogs and take them outside on long lines.

Campers could run with their dogs or just sit in the grass massaging them. After some quality time outside, the campers packed their bags and loaded onto the bus for one last field trip!

We went to Encore to visit seniors and introduce them to the dogs. Many of the seniors were very excited and happy to meet both the dogs and the kids and to learn more about them. The campers shared what their dog's favorite activities were and things they learned in camp.

After Encore, the campers went to Marketplace to grab lunch and try and expose the dogs one last time. The dogs happily took a nap while the campers ate their lunch.

Then it was time to head back to the barn to clean and prepare for graduation.

The campers cleaned the bathroom, bleached the barn, washed the windows, put out chairs, and organized the crates.

Most importantly, the campers set up a little party for Ayla, one of the campers that is heading off to Colorado for college!

After a little pep talk and several hugs later, it was time to let in the people who were attending graduation.

Once everyone arrived, Ayla was brought in and everyone surprised her with confetti and poppers! Then, Racheal gave a background of Camp Doglando and thanked everyone for all the support we received this session.

Following that, it was time for the campers to talk. They described why they chose Camp Doglando and what they learned this year. After that, we watched videos the campers had created for their dogs.

Then it was time for a demonstration of everything the dogs have learned!

Starting with crate and bed exercises, the dogs showed off their skills by waiting patiently in their crates or lying down on their beds, even with all the distractions going on around them.

After a couple rounds of that, we headed outside to Nature Play. There, campers demonstrated what they had worked on the most.

The dogs were given the freedom they craved to run off leash alongside their camper, and attendees could see the strong bond each camper has built with their dog over the past two weeks.

Then it was time to say goodbye to the dogs, and thank them for all they have done in the past two weeks.

Each camper was able to gift their dog the best two weeks of their life.

They were patient and caring, showing up for their dogs every single day.

They gave them the freedom to let go and enjoy life.

Even though all the camp dogs have not been adopted yet, their campers will continue to be advocates for their dogs until every one is in a happy home!

Thanks for joining us on our adventures in Session 1. We'll be back with more adventures on July 8th for our second session of Camp Doglando. 

See you then!

-Sofia and the Camp Doglando Team

P.S. A special Thank You to Sofia -- our Session 1 camp volunteer -- for writing our daily camp newsletter!