Take a shelter pet on a Dog Day Adventure through PAWS and More in Washington. The shelter is launching a new program this Saturday where people can take dogs out for excursions for two hours in the community. PAWS board member Terri Wood says there are many benefits to getting the dogs out in the community, “You know, if you can imagine just being a kennel all day, they just have so much energy. And we take the dogs out for walks every day and we play with them, but it’s not the same, they’re still at the shelter. So, once you get the dogs out of the shelter they can use their noses on the world and smell all sorts of new smells, and meet new people. And that’s a big part of the program too, when people meet the dogs in public the dog gets a chance to meet people that he or she would’ve never met in the shelter. So a lot of these dogs end up getting adopted which ultimately is the greatest result for them, is just meeting people they never would’ve met before.”

The program is part of a study through Arizona State University analyzing the effects of these small outings on the behavior of shelter dogs. PAWS and More is the only Iowa shelter and the smallest in the country taking part in the study. The shelter’s goal for the study is to have 40 Dog Day Adventures over 30 days. Community members can sign up at PAWS and More to take dogs out for an ice cream, on a walk, or even home to cuddle.