Dogs at a Mattydale animal shelter are spending less time in cages and getting adopted sooner thanks to the Paws in Motion program, in which students volunteer to walk dogs.

Stephanie Figary, an environmental and forest biology graduate student at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, along with other students and residents, launched the program at the Central New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The program, which began in April, recently increased its number of volunteers.

Dogs used to stay in the shelter for an average of 12 to 14 months, but now the dog that’s been there the longest has only been in the shelter since May, Figary said.

‘The length of stay is cut back dramatically, especially for pit bulls because they are the most energetic,’ she said.

The program has grown from the original group of about 10 ESF student volunteers to a group of more than 40 student volunteers from ESF, SUNY Upstate Medical University and Syracuse University, as well as local residents, said Kimberly Smith, director of education at the Central New York SPCA.

Figary said the idea for the program came to her after reading an article in Runner’s World magazine about a similar program in Philadelphia. She contacted the director of the SPCA, pitched her idea and began discussing the logistics of the program with Smith. The first orientation for volunteer runners was held in April and then first student volunteers started working, Figary said.

While volunteers are allowed to run with different dogs each time they visit, many develop favorites, Figary said. Her favorite is Kara, a 3-year-old hound mix who was given to the shelter after her family moved and couldn’t take her along.

‘Kara can run for a good five miles and still have energy, so if you think of a dog like that sitting in a kennel for a week or two, she’s just going to be pop-corning up and down trying to get your attention,’ Figary said.

But not all of the dogs calm down when first taken out of their kennels, Figary said. Some of the dogs stay rambunctious for the first half-mile and then start to calm down when they get used to being out of their cages.

Although she is set to graduate this spring, Figary said she hopes to see the program continue to grow after she leaves.

‘It’s fun,’ she said. ‘It’s a great thing to get going, and there’s been lot of positive response.’

Figary said the program aims to get every dog outside every day, a big improvement from before the program began, when the dogs got out once a week at the most.

Kimberly Smith, the director of education at the shelter, started working with the SPCA as a volunteer while completing a master’s degree in elementary and special education from Le Moyne College. She began working as an adoption counselor for the shelter.

‘It’s the best of both worlds; I still get to go into the classrooms, but I get to go in and talk about something I’m passionate about,’ Smith said.

Smith said after the dogs are brought out for a run, they calm down and are better behaved when visiting with potential adopters. It also allows the shelter to more accurately describe each dog’s personality and energy levels to help place them in an ideal home, she said.

‘It’s helped with the animals’ mental ability to stay strong and be able to live in a kennel for a longer period of time,’ Smith said. ‘If they don’t get stimulated they’ll go ‘kennel crazy’ and lose the will to live.’

Smith said when Figary approached her about starting the program, a Syracuse resident and volunteer, Donna Newman, had the same idea after reading about a similar program in a magazine. Both talked to Smith about their ideas, which led Figary and Newman to join forces and make the program become a reality, Newman said.

Running helps the dogs stay calm because it burns off more energy, Newman said.

Newman said running truly causes a positive change in the dogs because many behavioral problems are due to a lack of exercise and socialization.

‘When you see a dog in a cage and it’s bouncing off the walls you immediately form an impression about the dog, and you think that dog is crazy,’ she said. ‘And no one wants a crazy dog.’

Newman said she hopes to see the program continue to grow and help the dogs get adopted faster.

‘Hopefully it will keep expanding,’ she said. ‘If more people get involved, even if they can only come once a week or twice a month, it really makes a big difference for the dogs.’

jlsiart@syr.edu

Published on October 9, 2011 at 12:00 pm