Are you a college student who lives away from home? Do you also have a pet back home that you miss? Do you miss that big smile that is always on your pet’s face? Well, if you answered yes to any of those questions, I may have a solution to all of your problems and the answer is the University of Central Florida’s Rent-A-Pup event.

Rent-A-Pup is an event that occurs once a month at The University of Central Florida. This month, the event will be held on September 25, 2015 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in front of the Burnett Honors College of UCF.

The Rent-A-Pup event is hosted by the Honors Educational Reach Out program at UCF, which is also known as the “HERO” program. The dogs for the event are provided from the Pet Rescue by Judy.

Pet Rescue by Judy is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to rescuing cats and dogs. The pet rescue’s goal is to rescue animals that are abandoned, abused, and possibly suffering from injuries, and finding them a good new home.

According to The Pet rescue website, “many of the animals we receive arrive from less than ideal situations.  We want to help them recover their health while not risking the health of our other animals, and stop the cycle of breeding unwanted pets. With that in mind, each rescued animal undergoes medical and screening procedures.”

“We come out once a month to UCF to do Rent-A-Pup,” said Judy Cirillo, founder of Pet Rescue by Judy. “The wonderful students and staff walk our animals, give them lots of exercise and love, and it gets them out of the shelter”.

The HERO program is hosting the Rent-A-Pup event, but how many of you actually know what the HERO program is and/or does? My guess is probably not a lot of you, so here’s a little background knowledge on the program that is in charge of the Puppy event.

The Honors Educational Reach Out, “HERO” for short, offers volunteer opportunities to all UCF students to volunteer at more than ten different nonprofit organizations and Title I schools throughout Central Florida.

The Office of Research and Civic Engagement is responsible for the award-winning Honors Educational Reach Out (HERO) program.

“The Burnett Honors College has had a working relationship with Pet Rescue by Judy since early 2009,” said Rosalinda Torres, former HERO coordinator.

The Rent-A-Pup event is a free event, however donations for helping the remarkable organization are greatly appreciated and always welcome.

So, if you are an animal lover, or you just miss your pet back home, come out to the Rent-A-Pup event this Friday, September 25, 2015 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.