“The dogs want to go out and run; the kids love dogs, and they love running. It was a perfect marriage,” stated Escobar, who on the time was the cross-country group coach at St. Joseph High School in Santa Maria, Calif.
He reached out to a Santa Barbara animal shelter, and it was on board. After shelter employees gave the athletes a briefing on finest practices for operating with canines, the scholars set out on a mile-long loop across the shelter.
“It was super fun. The kids were having a great time, the dogs were having a great time,” stated Escobar, who took a video of the outing that day in 2016 and shared the candy scene on social media.
“Tails were wagging, kids were smiling,” he stated.
Little did Escobar know then that the 60-second snippet would fly across the internetwith a whole bunch of 1000’s of views in a single day.
“It just went out of control in a very, very good way,” stated Escobar, who now coordinates grownup operating occasions.
It has been almost eight years since that video. Every so typically, it resurfaces on social media and begins making the rounds once more.
The video reveals a bunch of highschool college students operating with shelter dogs of varied dimension and form. One pupil says “good girl!” to encourage his operating companion, whereas one other brings up the rear with a pooch named Fred nestled in his arms.
“Fred’s had it,” Escobar says within the video.
Not solely did the shelter canine run change into a staple coaching exercise for St. Joseph’s cross-country group, however it additionally resulted in some adoptions — together with by the coed who carried Fred. He ended up bringing the canine home.
“Many, many dogs were adopted as a result of this,” Escobar stated. “That is the thing that I am probably most proud of.”
The video impressed different faculties to search out their very own puppy motivators.
“Our athletic director was getting messages and emails from other athletic directors around the country, wanting to know how they could do this project at their school,” Escobar stated.
After a mum or dad noticed a social media publish in regards to the canine run, members of the boys’ cross-country group at Steinbrenner High School in Lutz, Fla., began doing shelter canine runs, too. They have been operating commonly with shelter dogs from the Humane Society of Tampa Bay for seven years, and this system has been lined in local and national news.
“We just started, and we’ve never looked back,” stated Allison Szponar, who coaches the group.
During faculty breaks and all through summer season, about 15 college students cease on the shelter to select up between 10 and 12 dogs a number of mornings per week. They drive them to a close-by park to run laps and play collectively. Some college students go to the shelter every week by means of the 12 months to take the dogs out.
“We put out water bowls and give them treats. They just roll around in the grass, wagging their tails,” stated CJ Clark, 17, the group captain.
He and his teammates cater to every canine’s health degree and individual wants — which the shelter communicates to them earlier than each run. The shelter additionally lets college students know if a canine is injured or out of form and, in some instances, encourages them to walk somewhat than run.
Rigorous operating can pressure an animal’s tendons and joints, so college students often combine walking and operating throughout their outings, which final about an hour and a half.
“We don’t typically do long distance. Nothing over a mile,” Szponar stated.
Shelter employees sends out dogs with extreme vitality, or those that appear to be craving social time.
“They run, they walk, they play with them,” stated Regan Blessinger, advertising and content material supervisor for the Humane Society of Tampa Bay. “It’s such a nice enrichment.”
The dogs spend most of their time in a kennel, Blessinger stated, and wish extra bodily and psychological stimulation, in addition to social time with different dogs and other people.
“There’s a lot of benefits, and the dogs just love it. They get excited to go,” she stated.
The college students look ahead to it, too.
“It’s really fun,” stated Brady Peifer, 17, a junior at Steinbrenner High School. “I think it’s really good for our team; it teaches us to care more about others than ourselves.”
Brady’s mom, Margaret Peifer, volunteers and participates within the shelter runs. She and her son additionally go of their spare time to take the dogs out for some train.
“It’s been really wonderful for us as a family,” stated Peifer, whose daughter is a runner on the ladies’ group and joins them for shelter runs. “We get to know these dogs; we keep track of them all.”
“I think my favorite part about it is getting to know the dogs and seeing them get adopted,” Brady stated.
Shelter employees stated the college runs have led to a number of adoptions over the years — by college students and by others in the neighborhood who’re touched by the hassle.
“We absolutely love this,” Blessinger stated.
Other shelters and faculties — impressed by Escobar or applications modeled after his — really feel the identical manner.
Jarrin Williams, the pinnacle coach of the boys’ cross-country and monitor and discipline groups at Rock Island High School in Rock Island, Ill., has been main shelter runs together with his groups since 2019.
“I try to make sure that I provide every opportunity for my athletes to give back,” Williams stated. “This is one way to do that.”
Multiple instances all through the summer season and different faculty breaks — most not too long ago throughout spring break — Williams and about 10 college students will cease at Rock Island County Animal Care and Control to train with some canines.
“It makes the dogs better dogs,” stated Samantha Wiley, an operations supervisor on the shelter. “They just look so happy.”
The college students like it as a lot because the dogs do.
“I’ve had kids who graduated come back and run with us and the dogs. That’s how much they enjoy it,” Williams stated. “It’s really cool that this one thing that is so simple could be so impactful.”
Escobar stated that in hindsight, he isn’t stunned his brief video had such resonance.
“It was 60 seconds of genuine, organic kindness,” he stated. “The world needs kindness.”
