Fort Collins rescue shelter helps students destress with puppies

Lauryn Bolz

December 2, 2018

Finals week is fast approaching and with that comes stress. One way to destress is to hold cute dogs.

Students gathered at the Braiden Hall Commons Nov. 30 to take a quick breather from studying for finals by relaxing with some puppies, courtesy of local shelter Bounce Animal Rescue.

Gwen Orth, a transfer student in Equine Sciences, relaxing with one of the rottweiler-mix puppies. (Lauryn Bolz | Collegian)

The “Puppy Party” was organized by Madeline Smith, service pledge officer of Alpha Phi Omega. The co-ed fraternity focuses on events that encourage fellowship and leadership. Smith hoped that by organizing the event, she could bring some pre-finals peace to the student body.

“Having eight cute puppies in a dorm hall when everyone is stressed takes people out of it a little bit,” Smith said.

Bounce Animal Rescue is a foster-based animal rescue based out of Northern Colorado. Smith contacted Laura Dufresne, who is on the board of directors for the shelter and who also organizes a lot of their community outreach events.

“These guys were about to be euthanized, and then won the ‘dog lottery’ by coming to Fort Collins.” Laura DuFresne, Bounce Rescue Shelter

“I bring puppies into the community and show people why supporting rescues is so important,” DuFresne said.

DuFresne said she was happy to bring eight rottweiler-mix puppies to campus to bring happiness to the students as well as spread knowledge about the value of rescue shelters.

“These puppies were actually on the euthanasia list at a Texas kill shelter,” DuFresne said, while handing puppies off to students. “These guys were about to be euthanized, and then won the ‘dog lottery’ by coming to Fort Collins.”

Laura DuFresne holding one of the eight puppies. DuFresne is on the board of directors for Bounce Animal Rescue. (Lauryn Bolz | Collegian)

The shelter holds many events, from adoption days to yoga parties with the puppies for members of the community to come and experience. The shelter is a non-profit that also provides veterinary care for animals in and around the Fort Collins area.

Bounce Animal Rescue has cats, dogs, rabbits, mice, birds and many other animals available for adoption. Their website has more information on how to adopt animals.

Bounce Animal Rescue operates mainly through social media and can be contacted through their Instagram or Facebook pages

Lauryn Bolz can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com and on Twitter @laurynbolz.

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