Everyone could use a little exercise, even shelter dogs.
Back in 2016 the cross-country team at St. Joseph High School in Orcutt, California partnered with the Santa Barbara County Animal Shelter to take shelter dogs out for a nice run.
The idea to have the cross-country team take the dogs out for a run came to shelter spokesperson Stacy Silva after she saw the team running their practice route past the shelter one day.
Silva told KTUV, “geographically, we’re very close and I thought, ‘Why aren’t they running our dogs?’”
So she contacted the cross-country team’s coach to see if the students wanted the chance to take a fury friend along with them for a run.
The middle of cross-country season can be a bit grueling, but for one day out of the year the kids get to slow down and help bring joy to a few shelter pups. Each runner is given a dog and a leash and is sent out on their workout.
Cross-country coach Luis Escobar says all of his students enjoy taking the dogs on a run.