VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: CNY shelter invites volunteers to adopt a dog for a day
Sophia Braun: This is Buddy, a happy-go-lucky two-year-old mutt. He is having an easier time that most dogs who are anxious and withdrawn after spending months in shelters across Central New York. Volunteers at Lollypop Farm in Fairport partake in an Adopt a Dog for a Day program where they can take a dog out for a few hours to give them a break from shelter life and give them a chance to show their true personality.
Emily Osgood: I started to come here, and it was one of my activities, and I got very into it and loved it, and I fell in love with every dog I walked.
Braun: Buddy, who has been at the shelter since December, is exactly the kind of dog the program was built for.
Nicole Ratliff: Many of our really easy going, adaptable, happy-go-lucky dogs can go out for the day and spend some time out in the world.
Braun: These big dogs, like Buddy, have a harder time getting adopted, but by taking them out for a day you are able to help them socialize and get ready to join their next home.
Ratliff: He is well loved by our dog walkers. He’s a Doggy Day Out superstar. He did four miles at the Fairport Canal the other day with one of our doggy day outers.
Braun: For dogs like Buddy, each outing gets them one day closer to finding not just a home, but a family who will see him the way everyone at Lollypop Farm does. Reporting in Fairport for NCC News, I’m Sophia Braun.
FAIRPORT, N.Y. (NCC News) — A Central New York animal shelter is offering volunteers the chance to take dogs out for a day of adventures. This gives anxious animals a much-needed break from shelter life while helping them show their true personalities to potential adopters.
Lollypop Farm in Fairport runs an “adopt a dog for a day” program that allows volunteers to take dogs out for several hours to help break the pattern they see of dogs acting withdrawn after spending extended periods of time at the shelter.
“Many of our really easy going, adaptable, happy go lucky dogs can go out for the day and spend some time out in the world,” said Nicole Ratliff, adoption coordinator at Lollypop Farm.
The program particularly benefits larger dogs, who typically face longer shelter stays and have more difficulty finding homes. Buddy, a 2-year-old mutt who was at the shelter for three months, exemplifies the type of dog the program serves.
“He is well loved by our dog walkers. He’s a doggy day out superstar,” Ratliff said. “He did four miles at the Fairport Canal the other day with one of our doggy day outers.”
The dogs are not the only ones benefiting from this program. Volunteer Emily Osgood said the program became one of her favorite activities since she started participating.
“I started to come here, and it was one of my activities, and I got very into it and loved it, and I fell in love with every dog I walked,” Osgood said.
The outings serve a dual purpose: they help dogs socialize and prepare for their eventual homes while giving shelter staff insight into each animal’s personality outside the stressful shelter environment.
For dogs like Buddy, each outing brings them closer to finding not just a home, but a family who will see their potential the way shelter volunteers do: deserving of so much love.