SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — Even though Concho Valley PAWS’ Clear the Shelters event is winding down at the end of August, the need for help remains year-round. Here’s how you can lend a helping paw to San Angelo’s furry friends and shelter workers.

CVPAWS runs several programs designed to help animals staying in its shelters, and PAWS Pals is one of its most crucial. As its name suggests, PAWS Pals pairs volunteers with shelter pets so that the animals can get the attention and care they need.

Volunteers in the program are assigned to a shelter pet and asked to give one hour of their week to play with it. Pets can be played with at the shelter or taken off-site to pet stores and dog parks while in the custody of the volunteer.

While certainly helpful for a person’s overall well-being — the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that simply walking a pet can decrease blood pressure, cholesterol levels and triglyceride levels while also managing loneliness and depression — the shelter pet also greatly benefits from this by being, quite literally, paid in exposure.

When a shelter pet spends time with volunteers in the PAWS Pals program, be it through on-site playtime or outings to local pet hotspots, the pet gets the chance to learn how to function around humans and other pets while also experiencing new environments. Additionally, they may also be exposed to people who may be interested in adopting, giving every shelter pet a better chance at finding their fur-ever homes.

So, are you willing to volunteer? If so, visit CVPAWS’ PAWS Pals webpage to apply to become a pal. Be sure to also check out CVPAWS’ volunteer handbook or email info@cvpaws.org for more information about the shelter’s many volunteer opportunities.