Gamma Omicron Chapter at Wake Forest University was recently featured in Old Black and Gold for bi-annual philanthrophy, "Rent-a-Puppy." Assistant Editor of The Rattle, Kelly Jones, spoke with Gamma Omicron Philanthropy Chairman Nate DeHorn (2016) , who was in charge of the "Rent-a-Puppy" event, and Brother Jeff Polidor (2015), who attended.
"We have been doing this event for the past five years under the name Puppies on the Quad," said DeHorn. "Last year, a new organization was started on campus that was called Woof Forest. They do similar events also called "Puppies on the Quad". To avoid confusion, we decided to change the name of our event to "Rent-a-Puppy," he said.
"Since our first event, we have been partnering with the Forsyth Humane Society. The puppies that we get are all dogs from the Forsyth Humane Society. They provide costumes (we typically do this event near Halloween) and blankets (it sometimes is very cold when we have the event). We are then responsible for selling time slots (typically a 15 minute period), selling t-shirts, and running the event. This entails keeping tabs on all the dogs and holding people to the 15 minutes so everyone gets their turn," said DeHorn.
"I think Rent-a-Puppy is a great event that Gamma Omicron hosts," said Polidor. "Wake is such a divided community, separated by labels and organizations. Rent-a-Puppy is something that everyone can enjoy because it requires no special qualifications. Anyone can participate. I also think it reminds everyone of home, something that most college students cannot experience. Especially for young students, such as freshman and sophomores, it allows them to mentally travel back to the comfort of their childhood, if only for 15 minutes. It is not something that is offered everyday, so that in itself is extremely special," he added.
During the "Rent-a-Puppy" event typically held near Halloween in October, the puppies are dressed in Halloween attire and participants are encouraged to do the same.
"While no one came with their halloween costumes on, I would guess that about 150 students came to the event," said DeHorn. "Participation is usually from students, and we occasionally have some Gamma Omicron alumni come to the event as well," DeHorn continued. "Approximately $1100 was raised during the Halloween event, all going to the Forsyth Humane Society," said DeHorn.
The following article was posted with written permission from Molly Dutmers, Old Gold & Black, Wake Forest University.
Rent-a-Puppy: Raising Awareness for Homeless Dogs and Relieving Stress for Students
By Raquel Broehm/Old Gold & Black
This past Friday, Woofforest, alongside Theta Chi fraternity, co-hosted its first Rent-A-Puppy event of the year on the lower quad to raise money and awareness for the Forsyth Humane Society in Winston-Salem.
During the three-hour Rent-A-Puppy event, members of the Wake Forest community were able to spend $5 each to have a 15 minute time slot with one of the four puppies brought from the shelter. 29 people came out to rent time slots this past Friday, which was a strong turnout compared to Rent-A-Puppy events in the past.
Proceeds totaled $183 and will go directly to the Humane Society, which is a no-kill shelter that houses up to 13 dogs at a time. Due to the limited space, dogs are put on a waitlist and transferred to the shelter as spaces open up. Senior and board member Diana Halloran explained, “If there are too many dogs who can’t get adopted and who can’t get awareness like [the puppies here today], new dogs can’t come in, and those dogs will go to kill-shelters.”
Woofforest, which serves as a liaison be
tween the Wake Forest community and the Humane Society, was founded in 2011 by Senior Maria Vogel when she was a freshman at Wake Forest. Vogel explained how the Rent-A-Puppy event originated from a similar event – Puppies on the Quad – which usually takes place during final exams. During Puppies on the Quad, members of the Wake Forest community can come out and play with puppies from the Humane Society for free. While there is no charge for the event, donations are always encouraged.
Aside from raising money and awareness for the shelter, Rent-A-Puppy gives the dogs an opportunity to interact with people, which is important for their upbringing, as Vogel explained.
In addition, the puppies also act as a stress-reliever for Wake Forest students. “Everyone here is smiling because dogs just bring happiness to people,” explained the staff advisor for the club, Jessica Long, who also described the event as a “15-minute therapy session.”
If you missed this Friday’s event, the next Rent-A-Puppy will be held on October 31, with the puppies dressed up in costumes to show their Halloween spirit. Woofforest will also be having puppies at their booth for Project Pumpkin, which will take place this year on October 29.
To find out how to get involved with Woofforest and volunteer directly with the Forsyth Humane Society, you can email board member Diana Halloran at halldc12@wfu.edu.
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