Beverly Dillon walked into One of a Kind Pet Rescue last summer and asked if they had a furry resident in need of some exercise.
She’d had her first experience with a four-legged running partner when a friend showed up for their daily half-marathon training with a pooch in tow.
“I couldn’t believe how the miles flew by with this dog,” she said.
The rescue staff was more than happy to loan the Coventry Township woman Esperenza, a 35-pound pocket pit bull they assumed would spend the rest of her life at the shelter.
Bursting with energy that could never be satisfied in a cage, Esperenza wouldn’t sit still enough to learn simple commands. Her hyperactivity scared off potential owners.
But after a few days of 3-mile runs through Akron’s Wallhaven neighborhood with Dillon, the dog had a whole new demeanor. Her frustration was gone, leaving behind a calm that allowed her to follow directions.
A month later, a man showed up at One Of A Kind. He said he was training for a marathon and looking to adopt a dog that could keep up with him. Esperenza’s day had come. The man was impressed by her run history and pace time, and the two jogged off into the sunset.
“I thought, this has got to be a thing,” said Dillon, a 48-year-old personal trainer.
That “thing” turned out to be RunningDog, the program Dillon founded to encourage local runners to take shelter dogs out for some quality time.
On her Facebook page RunningDog Runners, fellow converts — some of them in training for this weekend’s Akron Marathon — post photos and reports of the pups they’ve been taking out for a spin.
“One Of A Kind does a great job taking care of the dogs, but with so many dogs at the shelter, they don’t get sustained exercise,” she said. “When you take a dog away from the rescue, their true personality comes out. We get to see the true dog.”
Not all dogs can run — some are too old, have tiny legs or suffer a variety of medical issues — so this fall, Dillon expanded her program to encourage families to take dogs on their Summit County Metro Parks Fall Hiking Spree trips.
Each dog even has a personal hiking spree log. Just as their human counterparts are after a hiking staff shield, the pups can earn a special medal for their collar if they complete eight trails.
Interested individuals are asked to go through a short orientation session that explains shelter procedures as well as tips like how to hold a leash when running or how to redirect a dog that is a little too interested in chasing squirrels or barking at other pets.
New runners are asked to keep their first couple of outings in the neighborhood until they are used to running with a dog on a leash. One Of A Kind is at 1929 W. Market St., less than a mile from Akron’s Hardesty Park.
Veteran dog runners and hikers can take their borrowed pets by car to other parks and hiking trails.
In hindsight, Dillon said she shouldn’t be surprised at what great therapy running is for the dogs. After all, she used it to deal with grief after the loss of her son 10 years ago.
“Runners talk all the time about how cleansing it is to get out there and push the limit,” Dillon said, “and it turned out to be true.”
True for animals as well, said Janis Worley, who manages One Of A Kind volunteer programs.
“Basically, every dog wakes up in the morning with a full energy meter, which can be an inch, or a foot, or for some dogs, it’s almost unlimited,” she explained. “And their duty as a dog is to run that energy meter to zero by the end of the day. If they don’t have the opportunity to get rid of it, they don’t know what to do with themselves.”
They can act out by jumping, spinning in circles or losing the focus it takes to learn how to sit, stay and other simple behaviors that are so critical to helping them find a permanent home, she said.
“Dogs with lots of energy are hard to get adopted,” said Worley, who uses Esperenza’s success story to inspire potential running and hiking volunteers.
RunningDog and One Of A Kind Pet Rescue will have an open house Oct. 2 for anyone interested in learning more. Stop in at 1929 W. Market St. between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. and learn how the program works, even take your first dog out on a run or a hike.
Handlers can be as young as 14 as long as an adult is present. Families are welcome to take out more than one dog on their hiking spree trips.
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/paulaschleis.