Rescue your fitness

Don’t have the time or housing to rescue a dog, but would love to do something to help out? Rescue Your Fitness is working to connect shelters with dogs that need a daily run with volunteers that would love a running mate.

There’s no shortage of dog lovers out there that can’t have a dog of their own. When you tally up how many of these dog lovers run or walk for exercise, who would love to bring a four-legged friend along for motivation or company, putting them in touch with dogs in rescue shelters in need of a good walk themselves is nothing short of inspired – and exactly the idea behind Rescue Your Fitness. The organisation is dedicated to improving the lives of impounded rescue-dogs all over the country, by pairing motivated volunteers of all fitness levels with their local rescue-dog shelter or pound to provide exercise and much needed attention and affection.

In the beginning
It all began on the Central Coast, NSW, when long term foster carer and shelter volunteer, Jason Siebert was reading the Facebook page of a friend who was a fellow dog rescuer and the now owner of Gosford Dogs Paws shelter. He had posted that a volunteer program had started, looking for people to exercise the dogs at the shelter.

“I began volunteering with my local pound at Erina, and as I couldn’t have a dog of my own at the time, this became my weekly fix of unconditional love, running and having a canine training partner.”

He noticed a diminishing number of humans and a growing number of desperate dogs over time, especially some bigger more energetic breeds which I had been focusing on due to my level of fitness and experience with dogs.

“Something needed to be done. Although the staff were doing a great job, there needed to be more people that could help out, we needed to recruit. The dogs need to get out and run, humans need to move, and thanks to the reach of social media, we can share their stories with our vast networks of other humans and help find them homes.”

This is when Jason decided to harness the power of social media and online connectivity to promote all the shelters around Australia that have dogs that need a good run to those that might be available to exercise with them. And in the longer run, put them in forever homes via the good news stories posted by the volunteers with the dogs.

“Ultimately, the main goal of RYF is to assist rescue organisations in re-homing dogs. By sharing the experience of the volunteer running, walking or exercising with the dog on social media, and creating positive publicity, we increase their chances of finding homes. Not only are RYF volunteers improving dogs lives for a day, we are aiming to improve them forever,” Jason says.

Get involved

Rescue Your Fitness is always trying to increase the number of allied shelters with volunteer programs listed on their site, and promoted through their social media networks. If you are a shelter that could use some helping running your dogs and re homing them, or you are another passionate volunteer that is looking for a shelter near you that isn’t listed, Jason encourages you to get in touch with Rescue Your Fitness.