Tired of dating apps? Have the Companion Animal Alliance set you up with a dog “date”. – The lawyer

For many students, moving away for college doesn’t just mean a new bedroom or making new friends, it’s also about the family — and pets — they’re leaving behind.

Peyton Heck, a junior at LSU, is from Colorado and grew up with pets. She even entered college wanting to be a veterinarian, but when she moved to Louisiana, she had to leave her pet dog and cat at home.

She currently lives in an apartment, but one of her roommates is allergic to dogs and doesn’t want one. Heck really wants a dog, but she doesn’t feel good about leaving him in a cage the whole time she’s in class.

Earlier this year, she opened the Date-a-Dog program through the Companion Animal Alliance. This is part of their volunteer program. The program started in 2019 and allows people to check out shelter dogs for the day and take them wherever they want. For people like Heck or those who can’t have dogs due to dorm/rental rules or financial reasons, it provides an alternative to pet time. It’s good for dogs too.

“The reality is that even with our volunteers coming in to walk as many dogs as possible every day, there are still some dogs that can spend most of their day in their kennel,” said Heidi Weatherby, senior manager for communications and events for CAA. “This leads to fear, anxiety and stress. And it can lead to mental health issues for the animal and make them less adoptable.

At CAA, they prioritize finding happy adoptions for animals, she explained, which means making sure animals are properly socialized so they can be happy in their new homes when they’re adopted. “Dates” allow the dogs to go out, socialize with people and take a break from the kennel environment.

Hayley Lloyd, CAA’s volunteer manager, prepares and updates the list of 20 dogs for the program daily. The dogs she selects for the list are always up for adoption. They are vaccinated, spayed and neutered, usually over 6 months old. If the “date” goes very well, the dog can go home with you.

Lloyd prioritizes dogs that have been there the longest, show signs of stress or just need extra exercise. As of the end of October, their volunteers had logged 1,164 hours of encounters with dogs.

To walk a dog, participants must be 18 years old and pass CAA volunteer training. Volunteers are expected to serve six hours per month, but this can be accomplished on one date. After orientation, volunteers can check out a dog and go wherever they want, and CAA gives volunteers everything they need to be successful: poop bags, leash, treats, etc.

There’s no time limit on the dates, and if you’re up for a little more commitment, you can sign up for what’s jokingly called an “overnight commitment,” where you can take the dog out overnight and bring them back in the morning.

For Heck, dogs are a support system.

“They will always come and cuddle with you,” she said. She thinks they sometimes have more emotional sense than humans to notice when people are sad and then offer comfort. “They’re not going to come out and turn you in or anything like that. A person can leave you and go do something else, but a dog will always be by your side.

She misses that feeling when she doesn’t have pets around, and even though taking a dog out for a few hours isn’t the same as having a pet, it’s a source of comfort for her and she likes knowing she’s doing something good for the dogs.

On a recent date with a dog named Rollo, they walked around the capitol building and to Starbucks for a cuppa.

Like dates, not all go as expected.

“Where are some dogs that are crazy, but I put up with it because I want them out of the shelter,” she said as she walked Rollo. She believes that taking the dogs out of the shelter allows their true personalities to shine through in a way that people would never see in a shelter.

When she went to pick up Rollo, she was told he was very energetic and could run a lot.

“When I was in his kennel trying to put the collar and leash on him, I was like, ‘OK, he’s got some energy,’ but once we got out of the shelter, he was just super calm,” she said.

Rollo was a shockingly well-behaved dog who loved to chew sticks and sniff outside. But people might not know that if he never had the chance to leave the shelter and walk around.

According to Wetherbee, Date-a-Dog has a dog for everyone. If you are a student, you can take your date to a study session. If you need to train for a marathon, they have more active, high-energy dogs that would make good running buddies.

“If you want to take them over to your house and just take a nap on the couch and just have someone to be on the couch with, great. We love that too,” she said. “As long as you get them back before we close for the rest of the day.”

After the dates, the CAA has volunteers fill out a survey to describe the date and how it went. Does the dog interact well with others? Were they chasing squirrels? How did they do in the car? All of this information helps the CAA team build a more accurate picture of the dog’s personality for future adoption.

Rollo and Heck ended their date in her apartment playing with toys.

“He was literally laying in my arms,” ​​she said. “He just went to sleep.”