Release date: Aug. 9, 2005
Contact: Beverly Cox Clark at 404-712-8780 or beverly.clark@emory.edu

Oxford College Undergrads Run Foster Program for Dogs

The newest on-campus housing at Oxford College of Emory University belongs to lucky four-legged residents who are the focus of POOCH—a student group that is literally for the dogs.

POOCH (Pets of Oxford Community Hotline) is a student-run, on-campus foster program for dogs awaiting adoption. The program is now in its second year, and never lacks for student volunteers who are responsible for feeding, walking and playing with the dogs, as well as helping out with weekend adoption fairs.

Last year, students built the POOCH Palace, an 8-by-8-foot shed with a fenced in yard. The Palace is home for up to two adoptable dogs at a time that have been rescued by Pound Puppies and Kittens, a local nonprofit, animal-rescue organization. The dogs are not the only ones who benefit from POOCH: Students say taking care of the dogs is a great stress reliever, and a rewarding way to be involved in helping the greater community.

The program got its start in 2002 when Sandi Schein, director of Oxford's Counseling Center, found an abandoned puppy near campus she named Buddy, and took him in. Her own dogs didn't take to the new resident, so Schein moved him to Oxford. Buddy became the first (unofficial) POOCH member and a beloved part of the Oxford community until he was finally placed in a home in March 2003. Schein and POOCH co-founder Gayle Doherty, a faculty member in physical education and dance, were inspired to do more for unwanted pets. They worked together with several students and staff members for a year to make POOCH an official organization in spring 2004.

This past year, the popular program was able to foster and place seven dogs, including one this summer. One dog that wasn't placed by the end of the school year has spent most of the summer with Doherty, and will return to the POOCH Palace soon when students are back on campus for fall semester.

For more on POOCH, go to: http://www.emory.edu/EMORY_REPORT/erarchive/2004/September/er%20september%2020/Pooches.htm.

Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. For nearly two decades Emory has been named one of the country's top 25 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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