Watch this Marine run with shelter dogs to help them get adopted

As an active duty Marine and marathon runner, 27-year-old Wesley Swainston runs religiously and always has a dog by his side. However, the dogs are usually not his.

Watch the video above to find out why he’s running with these pups!

Wesley lovingly calls these dogs “shelter gems” - pups that are amazing but not adopted because they have not spent enough time with people and are stressed out in the shelter. His goal is to find them forever homes by spending time with them and documenting their journey.

Wesley visits nearby shelters after work every week. It all started when he noticed that many shelter dogs lack socialization and interaction with humans. As a result, when they encounter visitors, they often bark and become frantic in their cages. “They haven't seen a lot of life,” he says. “So they're going to be pretty fearful of people and things like cars or leaves blowing on the ground.”

Wesley discovered that taking them out for runs and exposing them to the outside world can have a transformative effect. “It was a night and day difference,” he says. “It gives them a chance to get away from the shelter, which is super stressful.”

Every month, dogs featured by Wesley find their forever homes as people see their personalities and journeys through his social media.

One of the dogs Wesley worked closely with was a pit bull boxer mix named Bear, whose high energy and jumping habits kept him from finding a forever home. Before meeting Wesley, Bear was one of the longest residents at the shelter, having been there since he was a puppy. Wesley spent months running with Bear, taking him to places like Lowe’s and filming him enjoying the world outside. Eventually, people started recognizing Bear in public. After months of dedication, Bear’s big moment came - he was adopted by a family from Maine!

“It made me feel like I'm making a difference,’ says Wesley. “This has given me way more than I've sacrificed.”

Through his actions, Wesley hopes to inspire more people to spend time with their local shelter dogs.

“If you just set aside a little bit of time, you can make a huge difference in a person's life and an animal's life," he says. "So that's the goal.”

Watch the full video below to hear from Wesley himself!

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Watch this Marine run with shelter dogs to help them get adopted