Every Monday on Adopt a Pal, Global News Morning features rescues in Manitoba to help them find forever homes.
This week, Zazu is looking for his new home. He is a lab mix and about one year old. He loves to play around and receive a lot of cuddles.
“He was found running the streets of Winnipeg with no licence on his collar. We held him for three days and now he is up for adoption,” said Leland Gordon from the Winnipeg Animal Services Agency.
“It’s really critical for people that have dogs and cats that are six months or older to keep the licence on that pet. If they come in as a stray, it is super easy to reunite them with their rightful owners, we wouldn’t even have to take them to the shelter,” added Gordon.
There’s a new program the city is trying out which can help people get to know Zazu or other animals that are up for adoption.
“If someone wants to take a dog out for a day, weekend, or week, you can actually do a doggie date. You call 311 and say I want to take out a dog for whatever amount of time,” said Gordon.
“You could be going to an event, Birds Hill, or the cabin. You can tell us what kind of dog you want and what time works for you. Staff will follow-up and coordinate the details,” Gordon explained.
Gordon notes the program is also great for people who are unable to have a dog full-time. It also allows the pet receive more play time and attention considering they are in a shelter with other animals.
“We’ve already had 10-15 people pick-up a dog for a date and take them to areas like The Forks,” Gordon said.
He added some pets were adopted after being out on the streets.
“Our hope is we get more people who want to take a dog out for a certain amount of time become serial doggie daters.”
Animal services has many fury friends up for adoption, which can be found on Pet Finder.
“We’ve had people from Vancouver and Minnesota come and adopt pets from here. You can narrow it down to the exact dog you want,” said Gordon.
More information about Winnipeg Animal Services Agency, doggy dating and volunteering can be found here.
WATCH: Adopt a Pal: Hanging out with Zazu and finding out about doggie dating in Winnipeg.