The Process Works: two dogs adopted from puppy yoga

Tristan bombards Consultant Philip Ghaly,

42, with affection. (Photo by Kacie Scibilia)

Dogs make everything better, including yoga. On Sunday, Feb. 23, puppies Ginger, Triston, Yogi, Dopey, Tootsie and Gracie joined a class of about 30 yoga students in what was a fascinating take on the ancient spiritual practice. (For the record, all dogs are puppies, no matter their age.) Tristan, a medium-sized dog with light yellow and white fur, was the star of the afternoon by far, with no equivocation. He was a love bug from the get-go. His friends weren’t quite as quick to trust, but they definitely picked up the positive vibes as the class continued. All these animals came from the animal rescue 3 Hearts 4 Paws in Morganville, New Jersey, a rescue organization that doesn’t believe in putting loads of dogs in a room full of kennels; they find foster families for every animal they aid.

Most of the participants completed the entire class, a fact that lies somewhere between surprising and unbelievable. Typically, about two-thirds of the yogis can’t stand strong in the wake of the doggy maelstrom. The doggy yoga class opened with a gentle supta balasana, a pose where you lay on your back, draw your knees into your chest and wrap your arms around your knees. It was practically child’s play because the pups hadn’t warmed up to the idea quite yet. By the time the yogis were in table pose five minutes later, all bets were off.

Marianne Svaldstadt tries to keep her composure

with Yogi riding her back. (Photo by Kacie Scibilia)

However, Tristan spent his time more wisely: he figured out that the yogis were delighted to give him unlimited belly rubs; all he had to do was show them his fabulous little belly. He hammed it up, from lying on their yoga mats to full-on kisses on the first date. Ginger, a tiny mutt of unknown origins, pranced around the bodies in motion without a care in the world because she was the boss, and everyone knew it too. Yogi, a shih tzu and unknown mix, selected a few lucky individuals to dote on him as he made his rounds. Dopey, a chihuahua (without a dress); Gracie, a chihuahua (with a dress); and Tootsie, a white and beige mixed breed, all courageously dove into the sea of practitioners to sop up all the love they could evoke and evoke they did.

Sarah, 26, student, and Ginger snuggle.

(Photo by Kacie Scibilia)

Though the act of practicing yoga while small dogs run around, over and under the students may blur the lines between spiritual practice and pure, silly enjoyment, there’s a deeper cause than what’s on the surface. “It’s really about bringing everybody together, raising awareness for the rescues [and]…any adoptions that are happening,” said Debra Furstenberg, the owner and one of the operators of Doggy Noses and Yoga Poses (DNYP), the organization that made it all possible.

DNYP did not start out as a business venture but rather as a community service project for her 15-year-old daughter, Morgan. “She was a candidate for a black belt in karate,” said Furstenberg. As karate is not just a sport but rather a way of life, the organization requires the prospective black belts to perform community service. She wanted to work with Husky House, a non-profit organization where the family boards their Huskey when necessary; but it also takes in “stray, abandoned and unwanted animals in the tri-state area,” according to their website. The only foreseeable problem was that, to volunteer at Husky House, the junior volunteer had to be at least sixteen years old. So, Morgan and her mom found a workaround.

One day while driving, Furstenberg heard a commercial on the radio for goat yoga, and the idea seeded itself into her mind. She pitched doggy yoga to her daughter (who thought she was either crazy or genius,) and they started the proverbial legwork. Furstenberg started making phone calls, and the first was to Huskey House. “It was probably the most terrifying call I’ve ever made…I didn’t really know the director of the rescue…I thought, ‘I’m probably going to be banished,’” she said. That’s when destiny took its place because Lorraine, Husky House’s director, said, “Let’s do it.” The class’s unanticipated and overwhelming response threw everyone for a loop: it was a “sold-out crowd.”

Now, DNYP hosts events up and down the Eastern seaboard, and they travel worldwide for corporate and university events. They work with local associates in the various locales to staff their yoga instructors and choose a lucky animal rescue to work with. Nancy Jenkins established 3 Hearts 4 Paws in 2013, all because of one dog who needed her affection. “I went looking for a sofa—I couldn’t find a sofa, so I bought a dog,” says Jenkins. The next thing she knew, within the year, she started the organization that would go on to change so many dogs’ lives by putting them with fosters instead of in kennels. They primarily foster dogs, but they’ve been known to find foster families for cats and even the occasional chinchilla. “If I have a foster who will foster, I’ll take them,” says Jenkins.

If this cross between spirituality and furry madness piques your interest, do it. The benefits are threefold: the yoga students get a dopamine rush to kick off the rest of their day, the puppies are able to socialize, and some of those adorable little scamps just might find a warm home to go to. If nothing else, the morning or afternoon will have been spent ogling and romping around with the most deliciously adorable adoptable puppies out there.

The afternoon activity started winding down, but it was too late; the dogs had already wheedled their way into some hearts and homes. By the end of the class, at least two people were interested in adopting Ginger and Dopey, and a third did adopt—that is to say that Tristan, that sandy-colored knave, had finally found his home. It took a little while, but the wait was well worth it, as his adoptive parents are wonderful people. It just goes to show you that Victor Hugo was right: “Even the darkest night will end, and the sun will rise.”