This is the touching moment a high school cross country team found a cute way to give back by inviting shelter pups to run with them.

Around a dozen dogs in need of adoption that were living at the Santa Barbara County Animal Shelter were gifted with the greatest morning ever.

Each pup was paired with a runner from the Californian-based St. Joseph High School Cross-Country Team and followed them during their workout.

You can see just how happy the pups were from the video below:

“I am not sure who was more excited and having the most fun … the dogs or the kids,” team coach Luis Escobar wrote on Facebook.
“Either way, it was a great time and I am sure we will do it again sometime soon.”

It was all planned by the shelter’s community outreach coordinator Stacy Silva who got the idea after seeing a Facebook post from Escobar.

Apparently, Escobar is a well-known animal lover among the community and so she thought it was worth reaching out with the idea.

“How about you bring those kids to the shelter and run some of our shelter dogs?” Silva recalled asking him.

The pups were so excited to go for the run, and it seems so were the students!

After the school shared some pictures and videos of the event, the shelter received a lot of attention which meant the pups had a much higher chance of being adopted!

“I think the biggest thing is the interest it has garnered in other communities and raising awareness and making a difference in the lives of shelter dogs,” she said.