Hiking Hounds is one of the most popular Asheville Humane Society volunteer activities. Each month, volunteers take shelter dogs on hikes as part of the enrichment programming. You'll spend a few hours in Bent Creek hiking the trails with dogs who will love you for it.

The next hike is Sunday, April 25.

Spots for two new hikers will be available on each hike.

If you are a new hiker… once you sign up for a hike you will be sent a link to a virtual orientation. You must watch this, and sign a waiver before attending a hike. All new hikers will come on their first hike without a dog; you will be paired with a hiking buddy to become familiar with the process of the program, and make sure this is an activity you will enjoy. 

If you are a seasoned volunteer… you are asked to watch the orientation as a refresher and you will be sent the link when you sign up for a hike.  

Note: New and repeat hikers alike are required to sign up in advance. If you'd like to sign up for this hike, email ahshikinghounds@outlook.com. Hikers are signed up on a "first come-first serve basis" and you must have a confirmed reservation to attend a hike. If you don’t get an email from Hiking Hounds, assume they didn’t get yours! Please be sure you can actually make the hike; if we have late cancellations, a dog gets left behind without a hike.

Start time is 9 AM. Hikes are typically 3-5 miles at a brisk pace with elevation changes and provide vigorous exercise for our volunteer hikers as well. They do not cancel hikes because of rain, as our pups don’t mind getting wet. Hikers generally return to the shelter at 16 Forever Friend Lane, Asheville around 11:30 AM to 12 PM.

Hiking Hounds now operates under these Covid-19 protocols:

We will ask that no one sign up for our hikes if they are at risk or have compromised immune systems. If you sign up and begin to feel ill, we ask that you cancel immediately.

We are asking all volunteers to stay in the parking lot, and not come into the building. The hike leaders will sign in the volunteers and will bring the dogs out to them. AHS is asking that ONLY hike leaders enter the building, no volunteers; anyone in the building must wear a mask. You will not be allowed to use the restroom inside the building, so plan on using the port-a-john at the Arboretum, or the woods. 

Bring hand sanitizer if you have it.

Please bring a leash of your own (if you have one), the fewer objects changing hands the better. 

We will maintain a 6 ft bubble as usual, for the safety of our volunteers and the dog's safety and comfort.  

We will eliminate bandanas and cards about the dogs; we can promote them through social media.

We will have one hiker go ahead of our caravan with all the Arboretum passes. That hiker will alert the security personal at the gate & will swipe ALL the passes so each hiker does not have to handle them.  Please bring a mask with you as the Arboretum requests wearing a mask in common areas.

 When we return to the shelter, all volunteers will again stay outdoors and the hike leaders will come get your dog. This is our normal procedure as our dogs always need social distancing.  

All equipment that we use will be sanitized between hikes. 

For more information visit the Hiking Hounds Facebook page.

According to the Dog Aging Project, "Decreased mobility can be a huge factor in decreased quality of life for our senior dogs." In a recent blog post, the Dog Aging Project offers some valuable tips and tricks to get your senior dog moving again...safely. The post addresses these two common questions:

1. My dog has a lot of trouble getting up and walking on hardwood or tile floors. What can be done to help her?
2. My senior dog can no longer jump into the car or up on the couch. How can I help him?

Of course, you should speak with your veterinarian -- but this post shares some excellent, specific tips and tricks in answer to each of these questions. If you have a senior dog who is having any kind of mobility issues, this information is well worth reading. You can find the post here: https://dogagingproject.org/mobility-tips-and-tricks-for-senior-dogs/?

Image: Dog Aging Project

There are any number of ways to define "animal-friendly" -- among them, how a community views the relationship between humans and animals and whether or not the community believes in protecting the rights of animals. According to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), public policy and, specifically, local ordinances can set apart any community as animal-friendly. Check out the five ordinance types suggested by HSUS below and see if your community has implemented any of them:

1. Establish a funding mechanism for low-cost or free veterinary care and remove barriers for nonprofit clinics
2. Remove barriers to pet-inclusive housing
3. Prohibit lethal trapping or poisoning of wildlife
4. Establish comprehensive, breed-neutral dangerous dog laws and eliminate breed-specific regulations
5. Protect pets who live outdoors by strengthening care standards

The HSUS also cites five additional ordinances that "may seem to help, but can hurt." You can see which those are, as well as read more about the ordinance types above, here: https://humanepro.org/magazine/articles/creating-animal-friendly-communities

Photo by Shane on Unsplash

Hiking Hounds is one of the most popular Asheville Humane Society volunteer activities. Each month, volunteers take shelter dogs on hikes as part of the enrichment programming. You'll spend a few hours in Bent Creek hiking the trails with dogs who will love you for it.

The next hike is Sunday, April 18.

Spots for two new hikers will be available on each hike.

If you are a new hiker… once you sign up for a hike you will be sent a link to a virtual orientation. You must watch this, and sign a waiver before attending a hike. All new hikers will come on their first hike without a dog; you will be paired with a hiking buddy to become familiar with the process of the program, and make sure this is an activity you will enjoy. 

If you are a seasoned volunteer… you are asked to watch the orientation as a refresher and you will be sent the link when you sign up for a hike.  

Note: New and repeat hikers alike are required to sign up in advance. If you'd like to sign up for this hike, email ahshikinghounds@outlook.com. Hikers are signed up on a "first come-first serve basis" and you must have a confirmed reservation to attend a hike. If you don’t get an email from Hiking Hounds, assume they didn’t get yours! Please be sure you can actually make the hike; if we have late cancellations, a dog gets left behind without a hike.

Start time is 9 AM. Hikes are typically 3-5 miles at a brisk pace with elevation changes and provide vigorous exercise for our volunteer hikers as well. They do not cancel hikes because of rain, as our pups don’t mind getting wet. Hikers generally return to the shelter at 16 Forever Friend Lane, Asheville around 11:30 AM to 12 PM.

Hiking Hounds now operates under these Covid-19 protocols:

We will ask that no one sign up for our hikes if they are at risk or have compromised immune systems. If you sign up and begin to feel ill, we ask that you cancel immediately.

We are asking all volunteers to stay in the parking lot, and not come into the building. The hike leaders will sign in the volunteers and will bring the dogs out to them. AHS is asking that ONLY hike leaders enter the building, no volunteers; anyone in the building must wear a mask. You will not be allowed to use the restroom inside the building, so plan on using the port-a-john at the Arboretum, or the woods. 

Bring hand sanitizer if you have it.

Please bring a leash of your own (if you have one), the fewer objects changing hands the better. 

We will maintain a 6 ft bubble as usual, for the safety of our volunteers and the dog's safety and comfort.  

We will eliminate bandanas and cards about the dogs; we can promote them through social media.

We will have one hiker go ahead of our caravan with all the Arboretum passes. That hiker will alert the security personal at the gate & will swipe ALL the passes so each hiker does not have to handle them.  Please bring a mask with you as the Arboretum requests wearing a mask in common areas.

 When we return to the shelter, all volunteers will again stay outdoors and the hike leaders will come get your dog. This is our normal procedure as our dogs always need social distancing.  

All equipment that we use will be sanitized between hikes. 

For more information visit the Hiking Hounds Facebook page.

This information is provided as a public service from FOMCA (Friends of Madison County Animals):

Pet Pantry

Pet food is available to families in financial crisis who are having difficulty feeding their cats and dogs. Pantry hours are any time during normal business hours, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm, Monday & Wednesday; 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm Tuesday & Thursday.  We partner with Manna Food Bank in Asheville, NC who supply us with most of our pet food to be donated.  We also welcome food donations from individuals and other companies.  Ingles has donated dog and cat food to our cause as well. 

Low Cost Spay/Neuter

Every other Wednesday is an opportunity for residents of Madison County to get low cost spay/neutering for their cats and dogs. Call  828-649-9798 for an appointment, and plan to spend fifteen minutes going through a registration process over the phone.

Call during office hours (Monday and Wednesday 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM; Tuesday and Thursday 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM; Closed Friday) for more information or to register your cat or dog.

Educational Programs