MSU Leader Dog Club holds pay-to-pet fundraiser on campus

It was $1 per pet at the Rock on Thursday where student organizers in the MSU Leader Dog Club brought their tail-wagging friends to help with fundraising. 

Animal Science senior and president of the club Sara Burza said the organization’s goal is to help educate those who are interested in becoming puppy raisers and spread awareness of the importance of leader dogs. The student group stems from the Leader Dogs for the Blind non-profit organization in Rochester Hills.

“We do this at our own cost and out-of-pocket, but thankfully we have a fund for our food and events like this that lead to (the fund),” Burza said. “Because it’s a very popular location on campus, we usually try and do a ‘Pay to pet at the Rock’ at least once a semester.”

In addition to raising money for student dog raisers, Burza said she hopes the club’s events on campus also encourage other people to raise puppies.

“It’s very rewarding,” Burza said. “I encourage you all to look into Leader Dogs for the Blind. There’s puppies at all of our meetings so it’s kind of nice.”

The club’s treasurer, animal science and pre-vet junior Olivia Smith, said she joined the group spring of her freshman year and has loved it ever since.

“I think a lot of what originally drew me to it was the dogs themselves and finding out that it was actually training for a service dog organization, which is something I wanted to do,” Smith said. “I actually ended up getting a dog at the end of that semester.”

Hoping for more puppy raisers on campus, Smith said she hopes students join the organization and familiarize themselves with the non-profit and what it has to offer.

For those who are looking for more experience in raising a puppy, Smith said Leader Dog Club is the place to be.

“I’ve only raised one,” Smith said. “It is a lot of work, but it’s a good learning experience.”

Stemming from her passion for dogs and her interest in becoming a veterinarian, animal science senior Lily Shanafelt is also a club member. Shanafelt said she joined after learning some of her friends were in the club and hearing about it in some of her animal science classes. 

As the club’s fundraiser chair, Shanafelt’s responsibilities range from raising money for the club to raising awareness of its non-profit affiliate.

“They do a lot of really good stuff for the community and for the clients,” Shanafelt said. “They give us the dogs and they helped us with raising the puppies so they can become guide dogs.”

Shanafelt enjoys being fundraiser chair, she said, and she appreciates the fundraisers so members don’t have to pay out-of-pocket for supplies.

“It’s nice to be able to raise money for the student puppy raisers so that we don’t have to pay any out-of-pocket costs for any of our puppy supplies,” she said. 

Like her fellow members, Shanafelt said she would love for the club to grow, not only with more members but also student puppy raisers.

“Leader Dogs for the Blind is really desperate for puppy raisers right now, so we just really want to expand the club and have it be a more well-known club not only within the animal science department but the whole university,” Shanafelt said. “It’s a lot of fun to give back to the community.”