Jumping out of her mother’s white mini-van she grabs her water bottle, jacket, lotion and Chapstick. She doesn’t even sign in, she wants to go straight to the animals anyway.

“I always liked the idea of the club and helping animals,” freshman Laura Urban said. “I thought as president I could really help by marketing the club and helping the animals and help with the shirt design.”

The Animal Rescue Club is a new club that helps volunteers at Texas Humane Heroes with the animals of the euthanasia list.

“I personally been involved with animal advocacy,” sponsor Shelly Hesson said. “I work on public communications with animals and I’ve fostered three litters of abandoned kittens.  Over the summer I bottle fed them because of how young they were.”

Hesson has also worked with the Williamson County Shelter before helping at Texas Humane Heroes. She mostly supervises watching the students and looking after her own children making sure both groups are following the rules.

“Right now they are learning how to walk them properly and other basic training,” Hesson said. “They wash dogs who are stuck in cages. They don’t have enough volunteers for dogs to get washed.”

Texas Humane Heroes is privately funded. The number of volunteers influence how many dogs they can take in. Volunteering also benefits the students.

“I want to have better responsibility with the animals,” freshman Jessica Hernandez said. “I wash dogs, pet them and play with them. I want to prove to my mom that I am responsible enough to have a pet.”

Their current campaign is building Rouse House which is raising money to sponsor a dog and cat kennel for one year at Texas Humane Heroes by selling T-shirts. They also need animal clippers and they are trying to get a bed drive going. They are still working on the details, but the idea they have is if someone buys a dog bed they get another one for free.

“We want to be able to establish our group and provide our support to the shelter,” Hesson said. “Educating people is a big deal and also taking action to help the animals on the euthanasia list to make them seem more approachable.”

Anybody can join, but training is required. It is held on the first and third Saturday of every month at 10:30-11:30 a.m. There is also a fee of $10.

“I have dogs at home so the trainings helped me walk them,” freshman Emma Espinoza said.

Urban hopes to expand on the club and their help with the shelter.

“On a Saturday we could have an open house and train the dogs to go through the obstacle course,” Urban said. “We just need to be there for them, we need to make them feel loved.”

Hesson wants the students to be less dependent on her. She wants the president to run the meetings when the club has a strong enough backbone and more people willing to take the time to be with animals. They meet Wednesday mornings at 8 a.m. in Portable 1.

“There are a lot of animals that haven’t had people interaction,” Urban said. “Our goal is to give them that human interaction so when it’s time for adoption they will already have the interaction with people and hopefully warm up to them quickly.”

Hernandez went to the trainings to get a better understanding of how to handle animals. She learned she needs to hold the dog’s leash loose and that the walker is in control; not the dogs. She also learned that the kittens can’t touch the ground because they are fairly newborns and can get sick easier, same with the puppies. You have to take them to a special area in the dog kennels to play with them. She wants to be a vet when she’s older.

“I love animals, adore them,” Hernandez said. “I feel like I have a strong attraction with them. I want to know more and help them by not destroying their homes (wild animals too) and for them not to live in fear.”

Urban also loves animals and visiting the shelter. Every time she passes a kennel or cage she comments on how cute they are.

“I think of animals as best friends, great companions,” Urban said. “How would you feel if you were stuck in a cage all day? I would feel horrible. I would feel depressed.”