Animal Shelter Enlists Help of Pokemon GO Players to Walk Dogs

An Indiana animal shelter has created a way to make Pokemon GO even more successful — giving dogs a long walk while players hunt for creatures.

Muncie Animal Shelter Director Phil Peckinpaugh hatched the idea of enlisting players as dog walkers after seeing a group of people playing the augmented reality game, which requires walking in order to birth a new Pokemon.

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He put together a digital flyer featuring Pokemon characters Cubone and Growlithe and the response was immediate — dozens of volunteers showed up on the first day to walk dogs while playing the new game on their phones. It’s been shared more than 25,000 times since Tuesday morning.

The Pokemon GO app, designed to get people off their couch, takes players outside to hunt, train, and battle Pokemon. Peckinpaugh, who plays the game himself, realized it would make a great recruiting tool for volunteer dog walkers — and the shelter has plenty of animals, now called “poke-dogs”, that need fresh air and exercise.

 

“Kids, they love it,” Peckinpaugh told Buzzfeed. “There are people walking dogs, posting pics on their Instagrams and social media. That exposure for the dogs is really quite epic.”

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MULTIPLY the Good, Share the Idea! — Photo: Muncie Animal Shelter