The rise of ‘dog lending’ - good for people, great for pets

Krystal Sheehan’s hobbies include walking dogs at the US National Arboretum, feeding dogs cups of whipped cream and cuddling with dogs on her couch.

Yet Sheehan, 23, doesn’t own a dog. She loves spending time with them, she said, but she doesn’t have time to care for one every day.

She hangs out with one almost every week, though, through an animal shelter that encourages people to take out its dogs for a few hours. It’s one of many programmes that have emerged across the United States in recent years that give people and dogs a chance to spend time together without making a major commitment.

Psychologist Kerri Rodriguez, who leads a group at the University of Arizona that researches animal-human interactions, said spending just five or 10 minutes with a dog can make people happier and decrease their stress.

In fact, research has shown that when people interact with dogs, oxytocin - known as the love hormone - increases in both species. This is true even if you’re petting someone else’s friendly dog.

“They love us unconditionally,” Rodriguez said of dogs. “And for a lot of people, that can be really therapeutic in itself, just being able to bond with this animal, no questions asked.”

Brandywine Valley SPCA launched its dog lending programme, which it calls Shelter Skip Day, at its two D.C. locations in the spring. Claire Morse of Greenbelt, Maryland, was among the first volunteers.

Morse said she loves dogs but doesn’t have the energy to care for one every day (she instead has two cats, Moogle and Jeannie). She has taken out a dog from Brandywine Valley SPCA about 15 times, usually going to the National Arboretum or the Union Market district with them.

Morse is just as happy to supervise dogs that want to rest outside the shelter, like one that slept in her air-conditioned Toyota Camry for a few hours with her, and another that jumped on a bench at the National Arboretum and took a nap.

While some dogs appear nervous to leave the shelter, Morse said, they become more comfortable with her by the end of their few hours together.

“People will say, like, ‘Oh, that’s so nice of you to do this,’ or like complimenting me for being, like, a good person,” said Morse, 30, a programme management specialist at the University of Maryland. “But for me, it’s kind of selfish. I just enjoy it.”

Most shelters supply volunteers with a leash, poop bags, treats, toys and a water bowl and ask they return the dogs before they close that evening. Some also give people ideas for activities.

Animal Care Centers of NYC, which calls its lending programme BoroughBreak, gives volunteers bingo cards that list a task on each square, like “Splash around in water,” “Take a photo with a NYC landmark” and “Take a video of a basic command.” The shelter offers gift cards and shelter merchandise to people who get bingo.

Shelters, many of which are overcrowded, hope the outings make their dogs more adoptable. Brandywine Valley SPCA makes business cards for each dog and gives volunteers black backpacks that say “WE ARE ON A FIELD TRIP. YOU CAN ADOPT THIS DOG. (IT’S OKAY TO BE EXCITED).” Shelters encourage people to post photos and videos of the dogs, which wear vests that say “ADOPT ME,” on social media.

Sheehan, a teacher at a day care, saw a Facebook post about a Shelter Skip Day experience in May and visited Brandywine Valley SPCA in Northeast Washington the next day. Sheehan, who grew up in Council Bluffs, Iowa, with a Siberian husky mix named Angel, missed hanging out with dogs but wasn’t ready to own one.

Spending about two hours with a puppy named Jetta hooked Sheehan and her boyfriend, Tycho Janssen. They’ve since borrowed a dog from the shelter about 20 times.

If the shelter gives Sheehan and Janssen an energetic dog, they walk and play at Rock Creek Park or the National Arboretum. If they’re busy or the shelter lends them a calm dog, they snuggle with the dog at their apartment.

They have one rule: They give every dog a pup cup of whipped cream from Dunkin’ or Starbucks.

“It always leaves us feeling better at the end of the day,” Sheehan said.

They have to return each dog by 4pm Some dogs are so tired after the roughly four-hour outing that they fall asleep on the drive back. Sheehan often sits in the back seat of her Hyundai Sonata with them so she can spend a few extra minutes cuddling.

Sheehan said she’s sad each time she returns a dog. But then she remembers: She can do it all over again with another dog the following week.