{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,25]],"date-time":"2026-02-25T11:57:27Z","timestamp":1772020647031,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Knowledge E DMCC","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JSBCH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: The purpose of this work is to examine physical activity levels of volunteers who walk shelter dogs at an open-admission animal shelter in the southern United States.\u00a0 In doing so, shelter dog walking is presented as an activity of relational community engagement that can enhance well-being at all levels. \u00a0\r\nMethods: For this quasi-experimental study, a purposive sample of volunteer dog walkers in rural North Carolina was asked to record daily activity for a twelve-week period, with a total of 336 days submitted. Descriptive statistics and a paired-samples t-test were analyze the data.\r\nResults:\u00a0 Data from a total of 336 days was collected.\u00a0 Paired-samples t-test was performed to compare outcomes assessed on days shelter dogs were not walked and days they were walked by volunteers.\u00a0 Significant differences were demonstrated for the steps taken (t(154) = 9.5, p &lt; .001), the distance walked (t(154) = 9.0, p &lt; .001), and the calories expended (t(154) = 5.2, p &lt; .001).\u00a0\r\nConclusion:\u00a0 The implications of these findings are multi-level and suggest walking shelter dogs can be a beneficial activity for all parties involved.\u00a0\u00a0At the micro-level, volunteers walked further, burned more calories, and accumulated more steps on days they walked shelter dogs.\u00a0 In turn, shelter staff and the local community benefited at the meso- and macro-levels, respectively.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.18502\/jsbch.v9i2.20256","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,26]],"date-time":"2025-11-26T12:55:41Z","timestamp":1764161741000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Physical Activity, Well-Being, and Community Engagement: A Socioecological Examination of Volunteers Walking Shelter Dogs"],"prefix":"10.18502","author":[{"given":"Melanie","family":"Sartore-Baldwin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bhibha","family":"Das","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"7770","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,26]]},"container-title":["Journal of Social Behavior and Community Health"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/publish.kne-publishing.com\/index.php\/SBRH\/article\/download\/20256\/18854","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/publish.kne-publishing.com\/index.php\/SBRH\/article\/download\/20256\/18854","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,25]],"date-time":"2026-02-25T10:59:23Z","timestamp":1772017163000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/publish.kne-publishing.com\/index.php\/SBRH\/article\/view\/20256"},"secondary":[{"URL":"http:\/\/sbrh.ssu.ac.ir\/article-1-291-en.html","label":"UNIVERSITY"}]},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,26]]},"references-count":0,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.18502\/jsbch.v9i2.20256","relation":{},"ISSN":["2783-2104"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2783-2104","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,26]]}}}