A few Tulane University fraternities have taken in puppies in need of emergency placement this semester, with shelters being overcrowded and many puppies at risk of euthanasia.
The mission of Rolling River Rescue — a foster-based rescue organization that operates entirely on donations — is to get as many animals as they can to be healthy and into loving forever homes.
“Daily exposure to students, new routines and busy spaces teaches them to trust people and adapt,” shelter representative Maria Thomas said. “Campus fosters give dogs the social skills they need to thrive in their forever homes.”
What began as a scramble to find last-minute fosters has turned into a campus-wide feel-good effort to save animals that otherwise may not have survived.
“We saw an opportunity to do a good thing, and having a dog around just lifts everyone up,” sophomore Sigma Chi member David Curtis said.
Curtis said Sigma Chi plans to care for their puppy until winter break or until a permanent home becomes available. The fraternity has treated caring for the dog as a shared responsibility by rotating feeding, walking and supervision.
“Students are drawn to the dog because many miss their pets back home and rarely get to spend time with animals while in college,” Curtis said. “People stop by constantly to see him; it’s comforting for a lot of students.”
Sigma Chi and Sigma Alpha Epsilon are currently fostering puppies, and both chapters say the animals have already made significant progress with keeping the dogs healthy.
“He was very skinny at first and afraid of people,” Curtis said. “But after the first week, he came out of his shell and wanted to meet everyone.”
Sophomore SAE member Holtie Speir said that the chapter decided to foster their puppy Blu after learning that without immediate placement, the dog would be euthanized.
“He gradually became more open,” Speir said. “Now he loves walks, he’s grown so much and is way more comfortable around people.”
Both fraternity members said caring for the puppies has strengthened bonds between members and added a new layer of responsibility to daily life on campus.
“We’ve all become closer,” Speir said. “We have to make sure he’s fed and taken out. It’s difficult, but we’ve all handled it pretty well with help.”
Thomas said the rescue team hopes more Tulane students will get involved as local shelters continue to face a growing crisis.
“There are more companion animals being discarded than organizations can find safe places for,” Thomas said. “As a result, they are killed for space. Killed because no one wants them. We wish everyone knew how dire the situation is. Innocent lives hang in the balance.”
