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Miami-Dade Police Helping Shelter Dogs Get Exercise, Find New Homes

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The dog days of summer arrived a little early at Tropical Park in Miami-Dade County Wednesday afternoon.

The Miami-Dade Police Department teamed up with animal services to escort the pups to the park for the first Dog Play Afternoon.

It gives the animals a chance to get out and exercise while the public can come and possibly even adopt.

"An event like this is really about exposing the dogs at the shelter to a different community and a different environment," Says Lorna Mejia Lopez who is the Chief of Shelter Services. She hopes that taking the animals out of the shelter can expose them to more people.

"We want to give them a better chance to be recognized," Said Lopez.

In addition to getting the dogs out of the shelter and in front of the public the time outside and together also serves another purpose.

"Enrichment is so important for our dogs' physical and mental stimulation. It reduces stress and shelters can be a very stressful environment," Says Savanah Alcerro who is the enrichment specialist at Miami-Dade Animal Services.

The goal is to give the dogs a chance to be social with one another and get the exercise so they will present themselves better at the shelter to a potential adopter. After just 30 minutes in the park running, jumping, and even swimming the dogs were exhausted.

"A tired pup is a happy pup, and that is super important to us," Says Alcerro.

And happy pups have a better chance at being adopted which is why they say the first Dog Play Afternoon will not be the one and only.

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