While Texas State University students are attending classes, they often miss their pets back home. Many of them turn those feelings into action by volunteering their time to give dogs the chance to spend meaningful time outdoors in the hopes of getting them adopted.
Through the San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter’s Dog’s Day Out program, community members over the age of 18 with a reliable vehicle can register to take a shelter dog out for a few hours at a time. The shelter provides a treat bag, water bowl, and specialized cards and bandanas that advertise the dog is adoptable for people who express interest.
“We have a conversation with everybody before they take the animal out just to make sure we understand each other’s expectations and that we’re matching them up with an animal that really fits what they’re wanting to do that day,” said alumna Minnie Buckhaults, community engagement coordinator at the San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter. “If someone comes in and they’ve never interacted with dogs before, we’re not going to send a dog that’s super jumpy and excitable. We want to ease them into it.”
With the shelter having just three play yards and a high number of adoptable dogs, it only allows them about 10 minutes a week of play time in an open space, outside of walking.
Bella and Aubrey Lemons
Leo (right)
Brayden
To address the inefficiency, the shelter started the program in 2022 to provide the dogs opportunities to exercise and decompress from the stress of being in the shelter. In turn, it also boosts their chances of getting adopted.
“If you imagine walking into a room with everybody screaming, that’s kind of what it’s like for a dog to be at a shelter,” Buckhaults said. “While some dogs handle that stress extremely well, others do not. This program is great for their mental health. The photos and videos we get from volunteers tremendously boost their adoption potential.”
The volunteers who participate in the Dog’s Day Out program will often end up adopting the dogs themselves.
“You can kind of tell it might be happening because they’ll show up seconds before their time has ended and they are spending every moment they have with that dog,” Buckhaults said. “My favorite one is we had these two college boys who had taken this tiny female pitbull. After they dropped her off, I watched them drive out of the parking lot, do a U-turn, and come back to adopt her.”
TXST students make up most of the program’s volunteers. Large numbers of student organization, sorority, and fraternity students also volunteer at the same time, making it possible to take 35 dogs out during a single day, for example.
Bella and Aubrey Lemons
“I think it’s just a really good way to get people to start thinking about our shelter as a real opportunity to get an animal, get some companionship, or even just participate in your community,” said Aubrey Lemons, co-director of community and social impact for the American Marketing Association at TXST.
For student organizations, it provides an opportunity to introduce student members to the shelter while giving them time to connect with shelter dogs outside of their kennels.
Aaron McBurnett, new member education chair of Lambda Chi Alpha, said the program also offers college students a chance to experience the companionship of a dog without the responsibilities that come with adopting one.
“It’s an extremely fun and helpful event for any organization, and it can bring people together,” McBurnett said. “Because things like depression and anxiety are really common, just spending a couple hours playing with a dog without the responsibility of having vet bills, food, and water can be really therapeutic.”
Lemons experienced the program as a freshman and would visit the shelter whenever she needed “some puppy love.”
She called the experience rewarding not only because she spent time with the dogs, but because she could see the impact the outings had after the dogs returned to the shelter.
“I remember going back and checking a few days later and some of the dogs had been adopted that we took out,” Lemons said. “That was just really amazing and sweet to see.”
Students can also help increase the dogs’ visibility by sharing their experiences online and in the community.
“Take every single picture you can, post every single picture you can to Instagram, and really put these dogs on a pedestal,” Lemons said. “Get them out there.”
