The organization has actually made it much easier than ever to walk dogs
It’s getting late. The volunteer dog walkers are chosen the day. The strangely enjoyable odor of Buckeye disinfectant wafts from the floorings of the Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter (FAAS) kennel, newly scrubbed in late afternoon.
On the dry-erase board near the entryway to the kennel, 4 dogs have red circles by their names. These are the dogs who haven’t gotten any strolls today, and might not get the workout they long for or the break from kennel life they require.
FAAS’s kennels are complete—overflowing with dogs who require caring houses after being gave up or getting lost and never ever discovered. It’s by doing this at shelters all over California nowadays. Really, all over the country. But that’s a story for another time.
Here, there are simply a lot of dogs for staff and the present canine volunteers to walk.
Yet in some way, the staying dogs get leashed and utilized and strolled. Maybe their strolls are somewhat much shorter than normal, or staff tasks have actually been reprioritized, or somebody chose to remain late. Kennel care employees don’t like it when a dog needs to remain in a kennel throughout the day. So they make it work whenever possible, and in some cases when it appears difficult.
The dogs return, one by one. All the red circles now have a “W” (for walk) inside them. The objective of getting every walkable dog out for some workout and quality time with a human is achieved.
At least for today.
‘Want to Go for a Walk?’
Ask almost any family pet dog this concern, and after a number of beats of looking at you to ensure you truly said those words, the tail sets to wagging, and paws start dancing on the flooring. If a dog might talk, the response would be something like, Wow a WALK?! Yes, yes, oh YES!!!
Walks for family pet dogs are an important part of a healthy, happy life. Their senses come to life as they capture up on the latest pee-mail, feel the breeze in their face, and perhaps score a roll in soft yard. And they get to work out, which reduces tension and is vital for body and soul.
For a shelter dog, choosing strolls has all these advantages, and a lot more:
- Like their housed equivalents, shelter dogs like heading out. When some see a prospective walker approaching, it’s as if they live for these minutes. They might leap a couple of feet in the air, or wag so quick their tails are a blur, or bark continuously. Or all 3 at the very same time, in many cases.
- Walking provides a much-needed break from the loud, demanding life in a kennel.
- Shelter dogs who opt for strolls frequently tend to have less stress-induced disease, and much better psychological health.
- They keep in mind—or in some cases learn for the very first time—that there’s a world outside the kennel.
- Dogs don’t get so utilized to the kennel that life exterior is frightening and demanding.
- Devoted as shelter staffers are, they can’t mingle and engage with dogs as much as they’d like. On strolls, dogs get to practice these crucial abilities with an individual who is paying total attention to them.
- Dogs typically get basic training on strolls.
All of these serve not just to make dogs better, however more adoptable. This is truly the greatest advantage of all, because discovering a caring home is the very best thing that might occur to a shelter dog, and is the objective of any shelter for every single dog.
Our Postcaster gets the leash!
Alameda PostCast host Scott Piehler chose to have a look at the brand-new dog walking effort at FAAS on Thursday.
“Agatha and Bailey really made my day,” Scott said after returning from back-to-back strolls. “The process is super simple. Just show up and let them know you’re available. They asked me if I had experience with larger dogs, and when I told them yes, they sent out Agatha. We explored the area around the Marina, and had a great ‘sniffari.’ After about 30 minutes, we returned to FAAS, and I met Bailey. She was raring to go, but as a slightly older dog, we kept the walk a bit shorter, just a tick over 15 minutes. I could really tell that both dogs were happy to be exploring on a beautiful sunny Alameda day.”
Scott certainly suggests the experience.
“It’s such a win-win,” he said. “You get to help out the great folks at FAAS, get some exercise, and you get to meet some pretty cool dogs. What more can you ask for? I’ll definitely be back.”
FAAS makes walking dogs a walk in the park
Like numerous other shelters, FAAS has a robust volunteer dog walking program. It normally needs finishing a 1.5-hour canine class and a couple of sessions of watching prior to individuals can enter into kennels and walk dogs by themselves. (The FAAS volunteer application is online.)
But more just recently, in an effort to get every dog strolled a minimum of as soon as a day, the organization made a pioneering choice: The shelter, at 1590 Fortmann Way, has actually begun opening its doors every day of the week from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to anybody 18 and older who wishes to walk a dog.
“Just come to FAAS during those times and ask to walk a dog,” says Steve Ferguson, FAAS operations director. “It’s that simple.”
No official training is required. Staff will attempt to match volunteers with the best dog, and will supply some details on how to finest walk a specific dog, along with where to walk near the shelter. (Front desk attendants will hang onto your car secrets or ID while you’re gone.)
Walkers report that they typically get as much joy as dogs do. “The dogs are totally different dogs from when they’re in the kennel to when we take them out,” says Rachel Allen, an assistance group lead at a tech business who likewise is a long time FAAS volunteer. “It makes me so happy to see them relax and become themselves. They get to put their feet on grass and sniff the ground and not have to deal with constant barking.”
FAAS’s place—simply a minute approximately walk to the Oakland Estuary and Grand Marina, and almost straight throughout the estuary from Coast Guard Island and its remarkable cutters—produces specifically beautiful strolls.
Volunteer Engagement Manager Monica Fischer motivates any grownup who enjoys dogs and wishes to assist—and get workout to boot—to think about either of FAAS’s dog-walking choices.
“If you don’t have a dog, or are in between dogs, or have a dog but want to do something extra, please consider walking a shelter dog,” she says. “It’s the favorite part of a dog’s day. Come be a dog’s highlight.”
The small print: Walks are available, weather condition allowing. During hectic times or when FAAS is short-staffed, there might be a 10- to 15-minute wait prior to staff can go to the kennels to get a dog. Youth need to be 16 or older to accompany an adult on a walk.
Maria Goodavage is Communications Manager for Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter (FAAS).
