Because the week before finals is stressful, several groups on and off campus try to combat stress with events and activities for students to enjoy. The Lutheran Campus Ministry at IU, partnered with the Monroe County animal shelter, will host its fourth annual Rent-A-Puppy event Thursday in Dunn Meadow.
About 15 puppies from ages two and three months and seven to eight other dogs will be available to play with from 1-5 p.m. within the perimeters of Dunn Meadow. All dogs must stay within in the boundaries of ?the area.
Although the event is geared toward amending students’ stress, anyone with a valid student or state ID is welcome to play with the dogs. It is $5 to rent a puppy to play with for a half-hour allotted time slot. People sign up on a first-come, first-served basis, filling up the time slots that are available.
When a participant’s time slot is scheduled, the animal shelter volunteers will give the person a dog in exchange for the valid ID. Participants receive their ID back once their half-hour has allotted, and the dog must be returned.
Proceeds are split between the two organizations evenly. In the past, however, the Lutheran Campus Ministry has donated significant proceeds of their total back to the animal shelter.
“It definitely brings joy and comfort to campus during a very stressful time for students,” said Haley Garl, IU sophomore and member of Lutheran Campus ?Ministry.
Garl assisted in the planning and execution of the event last year and is volunteering Thursday as well.
Once the event is done and all the animals have been put back into their respective cages, the dogs are open to the public for ?adoption.
Many dogs have been adopted after the event in the past, Garl said.
Lutheran Campus Ministry urges interested participants to come before the event starts to sign up for a time slot. With more than 1,000 confirmations of attendance on the Facebook event, they are expecting large amounts of people to play with the finite amount of dogs.
In efforts to advertise the event, various photos of the puppies up for adoption have been posted sporadically on the Facebook event page to generate coverage.
“Puppy previews” have been shared on the event’s page throughout the past week in anticipation for the event.
It’s hard to say no to playing with an adorable puppy, Garl said.
“This event helps us get our name about Lutheran Campus Ministry (out) while raising money for the shelter, as well,” Garl said.
