Dog days are fun days on trips away from the shelter with volunteers

MADISON, N.J. -- The place where Finlee lives is nice enough: It's clean, they feed and care for him well and there are always people to pet and scratch him.

But it's still an animal shelter in New Jersey.

Beyond its walls, however, is a big, wide, wonderful world full of unexplained, unexplored smells, piles of leaves to rummage around in, wet grass to cool the paws ... and squirrels!

Finlee, a one-year-old black mouth cur mix, gets to experience that world semi-regularly thanks to a program at St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center that allows volunteers to take dogs on field trips. They go to places like a park, the beach, a lake for a swim, a pet-friendly hotel for a weekend getaway, or even a trip to Starbucks, which serves cups of whipped cream called “Puppucinos” to dogs who bring their owners along.

“It gets dogs out of the shelter for a few hours,” said Sarah Sangree, director of community engagement at St. Hubert's, which is part of the Humane Rescue Alliance, and takes in and cares for animals from far and wide while seeking permanent homes for them. “Kennels are a stressful place.”

She said dogs that leave the shelter even for two or three days show noticeable reductions in stress as measured by their cortisol levels. Nationwide, she said, dogs that go on field trips can be five times more likely to be adopted than those that don't.

“It's hugely beneficial to the dogs,” she said.

The field trip program is particularly popular with people who love dogs but live in places where pets are not allowed.

“People can take them on a hike, they can take them for a walk,” Sangree said. “Sometimes people take a dog to their home for a few hours and just let the dog relax.”

Trips like this are offered at shelters across the country.

The East Bay SPCA in Oakland, California, will send 350 dogs on day trips this year. Joseph Romero, a manager with the group, said many of the dogs who go on trips end up getting adopted into happier, more stable lives.

“A lot of them arrive here not having had an amazing home life," he said.

Many shelters ask volunteers to fill out a brief report card on dogs that go on day trips. It's an invaluable source of information on things like how well they do riding in cars, encountering other dogs, or how they behave around children.

“Like most shelters around the country, we are almost always near or at capacity, and we have a waiting list of pet owners looking to surrender into the shelter,” said Leslie Wall, assistant manager of Everett Animal Services in Washington state.

It started a day trip program called “Wandering Rover” on July 17, and placed four dogs with adoptive families in the first four days it operated.

In addition to parks and trails along the waterfront, Everett's day tripping dogs might visit pet-friendly microbreweries and coffee shops. Other times, senior citizens who just want some company take a dog for the afternoon.

St. Hubert's in New Jersey has sent 500 dogs on day trips this year, with a goal of 1,000 by year's end.

In addition to perking the dogs up, it's an ingenious way to interest people in potentially adopting the animals as well. The shelter facilitates 2,300 adoptions a year, and at least half of those animals had at least one day trip with a volunteer, Sangree said.

Finlee came to St. Hubert's from Cara's House, a partner shelter in Sorrento, Louisiana. He was adopted on July 1, 2023, but the owner's health deteriorated, and Finlee returned to St. Hubert's on May 23. He likes chasing tennis balls, is extremely curious, and loves having his back scratched.

Recently, he was checked out for the day by Dennis and Diane Meyer, an animal-loving couple from Warren, New Jersey, who lost their own dog three years ago. They're leaning toward adopting one, but are not quite ready yet due to their schedules. Taking a dog out for 2 1/2 hours each week helps fill the void of not having one at home.

They took Finlee out to a park near the shelter, where he sniffed everything within range of his wet, black nose. A droopy plant was of particular interest, but so too, seemingly, was every blade of grass along the walking path through the park.

After a stroll, the Meyers and Finlee rested on a park bench. They gave him water and doggie treats, and he gave them copious kisses.

“We love doing it,” Dennis Meyer said. “This makes you feel good, with all those kisses he just gave me!”

“We're animal people, and we love helping animals, and they help us,” Diane Meyer added.

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Follow Wayne Parry on X at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC