Photos courtesy of Keely Johnson

Some Radford University rugby players pose outside the Pulaski County Humane Society with some of the homeless dogs they have recently volunteered to run with.

More Radford University rugby players pose for a photo. Front row (from left): Aaron Darnell, Ben Broemmel, Erik Czajkowski, Nick Gammie, Chris Gentil, Garrett Mooney and Mike Lovell. Back row (from left): Eric Slockbower, Brent Peterson, Philip Teetor, Kyle Hawkins, Pat Nolan, Ron Brown, Chris Barnes, Tyler Wood, Ben Neeson and Charles Augustine.

| Mary Hardbarger

mary.hardbarger@roanoke.com, 381-1679

PULASKI -- Rugby players and homeless dogs.

What may sound like an odd pairing turned out to be a perfect combination of energy, playfulness and an eagerness to just have fun.

This summer, Radford University senior and rugby club captain Eric Slockbower called the Pulaski County Humane Society with one request -- to allow team members to take the shelter's homeless dogs on a run each week.

Keely Johnson, executive director of the shelter, couldn't have been happier.

"I was thrilled," Johnson said. "You don't often have such a large group of volunteers reaching out to the shelter. ... It's usually just a person or two wanting to walk a dog or foster an animal."

One Saturday this month, 20 wound-up rugby players were greeted by 60-plus equally wound-up dogs at the shelter.

Leashes in hand, the players took all the dogs -- with the exception of those quarantined -- for a run. They learned proper leash etiquette, cross-contamination rules and worked on basic manners with the dogs of all shapes, sizes and ages.

Some of the dogs were even taken for a second or third run, depending on their energy level.

Slockbower was the mastermind behind the collaboration.

In his hometown of Richmond, he heard about an SPCA volunteer program called "Running Buddies." Participants could sign up online to be paired with a dog to run with.

At the end of the summer, Slockbower decided that he'd like to get his team involved in something similar.

"I said to myself, 'I've been out to the Pulaski shelter before, I know there are a lot of dogs in need, and I've got a great group of guys here to help,' " he said.

The team will run with the dogs every Friday before a match, and during the 2 ¹₂-hour playtime, the players and the dogs will run, walk and burn off extra energy.

At the end of the day, Johnson said both groups will benefit.

"It's so important for our dogs to get out and play and just be dogs," she said.

Most of the dogs at the shelter are usually cooped up all day in their pens and don't get out regularly, Johnson said. The dog's pent-up energy doesn't necessarily go over well with visitors looking to adopt.

"The dogs become mouthy, vocal and just don't 'show well,' " Johnson said.

She said she hopes the activity will help calm the dogs, allowing their true personalities to shine through.

She also encourages others to get involved at local shelters, citing that because of the economy, many are seeing an influx in animals.

For Slockbower and the rest of the team, the project will serve a greater purpose than just preparing them for game day.

"It's a chance for us to give back to the community, and it'll be good PR for the team and the university itself," he said.

The team's first match is this Saturday in Radford and, with help from the dogs, Slockbower said, the team is in shape and ready to go.