It’s a windy fall afternoon when a large white van pulls into the parking lot at the Pine Meadows trail head in Harriman State Park, an hour outside Manhattan. Out jumps Allison Nabis, 28, along with ten other people — and five dogs plucked from the city’s Animal Haven Shelter.
“I’m obsessed with dogs, but can’t have them,” laments Nabis, a neurology resident at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital who lives in Williamsburg, while holding the leash of 2-year-old Rottweiler mix Otter. “I work too much. I have 24-hour calls, so it wouldn’t be fair to the dog. So I figured this would be the next best thing.”
Nabis was one of several dog-lovers who took part in Discover Outdoors’ Hike With Adoptable Hounds program on a recent Sunday. The program, founded in 2012, is a bi-monthly trip that pairs dogs in need of homes with humans for a daylong, moderate-level walk through the wilderness — with a hope for making a perfect match.
“Pretty much every day, we get new dogs in, and we keep them as long as they need to get a home,” says Mary Waldock, 45, kennel manager at Animal Haven Shelter. “Some come in and are pretty scared. We work on behavior and socialization.”
Not surprisingly, the hikers are often New Yorkers who wish they could own a dog, but can’t.
Patrick Pan, who works in marketing and lives in the Financial District with two roommates, heard about the excursion from a co-worker. “I signed up on the spot,” says Pan, 27, who loves dogs, but doesn’t feel settled enough to take one on himself. “It’s a great chance for these dogs to get out here, plus I love to hike.”
For $110, the popular trip chauffeurs participants to the park from downtown and then leads them on a picturesque 4.5-mile hike, stopping for a 30-minute lunch break (bring your own) alongside the gorgeous Pine Meadow Lake. Part of the cost goes toward the Animal Haven Shelter.
While some hikers stick to one pup, Pan enjoys getting to know the dogs equally. “I wouldn’t dare to pick a favorite,” he says. “I don’t want anybody to feel left out. When you pay attention to one dog, all the other dogs feel sad about it. I’m reading ‘Inside of a Dog.’ They have their own logic. It’s totally different from humans.”
Meanwhile one couple has their eyes set on what could become a future family member.
Trista Watson, 29, who lives in Brooklyn Heights with her fiancé Tyler McConnell, 29, confesses that her secret desire for the trip was to adopt a dog. “You’re not getting a dog that’s just been left in a kennel,” says Watson, an attorney who, like McConnell, grew up with dogs. “I was hoping maybe we’d see a dog we’d like and fall in love with it.”
Sure enough, she says McConnell seems to have a sweet spot for Barker, a pit bull mix who was found in the street as a puppy — furless, mangy and red all over, basically, a “pig puppy.” This afternoon, he’s healthy and covered in tan fur, and spent the hourlong ride to the park lying across the couple’s laps, chewing on a raw hide.
“Absolutely, it’s always a possibility,” he says about adopting Barker. “We’re getting married in March, so I’m thinking about the next step, which is adopting a dog — or it may end up that we get a dog before we get married.”
So far, no hikers have adopted their companion. But that could change, as Watson and McConnell mull over whether they have what it takes to become puppy parents.
“Dog lovers don’t always make good dog owners,” says McConnell, who works in finance. “The challenge is finding the time. If you can get them out of the city, to places like this, it’s great.”
The next Hike With Adoptable Hounds is on Saturday. Visit discoveroutdoors.com for more information and to make a reservation.
