DENHAM SPRINGS • LIVINGSTON • WALKER • WATSON • AMITE • HAMMOND
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T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
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W e d n e s d ay, S e p t e m b e r 10, 2025
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Livingston shelter begins dog fostering program Furry friends can get ‘checked out’ from shelter
BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer
The Livingston Parish Animal Shelter has dozens of furry friends up for adoption, and now people can take them home for just a day or two for a “doggy day out.” The shelter began its dog foster program earlier this month to promote adoptions and get dogs out of the overcrowded shelter for periods of time. Dogs can be fostered for the day, overnight or longer. Tabitha Laboyteaux, who handles “a little bit of everything” at the shelter, said the facility decided to create a foster program after seeing its mentor shelter, Acadiana Animal Aid, with one. The idea of the foster program is to promote adoptions and to discover if the dogs are house-trained to include in the dogs’ information for potential future adopters.
About 30 dogs are eligible for fostering. All dogs up for adoption are available for the program. Edna and Kane were the first dogs fostered, with the program starting a few days ago. The shelter currently houses 67 dogs. For a dog to be available for adoption, they must be spayed or neutered and microchipped. Laboyteaux said up to 50 dogs will be available for adoption or fostering in the near future after their surgeries and veterinary care. For those who foster a dog, the shelter will provide them with a collar, leash and any other items they would need to take care of a dog. At first, Laboyteaux was concerned about how the animals would act coming back “They’re kind of refreshed … even just one night away helps
them immensely,” she said. She said sometimes the dogs can be overstimulated in the shelter or even annoyed with a neighbor and just need time to get away. The foster program is just one of many new changes at the animal shelter. A new building for the shelter is under construction and is expected to be up and running in early 2026. The parish project is an attempt to help animal control in the parish and address overcrowding at the shelter. The new shelter will focus on spaying and neutering animals to better control the stray animal population. The shelter also began opening on Fridays and Saturdays this year, aiming to increase adoption rates and reduce the number of dogs at the shelter. Those interested in fostering can
A dog meets a visitor at the shelter. call the shelter at (225) 686-7798 or stop by the shelter at 13525 Florida Blvd. Its hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Friday and
STAFF FILE PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE Saturday. Email Claire Grunewald at claire.grunewald@theadvocate. com.
TAKING THE FIELD
Darlene Denstorff AROUND LIVINGSTON
Southeastern Livingston Center sets Walker classes Check out these classes planned for the Southeastern Livingston Center in Walker. Sound Bath: Relax during a Sept. 15 Sound Bath class. $25 for a one-hour session designed to move energy gently and prepare the body and mind for a relaxing journey into sound. Mahjong: Learn how to play Mahjong during this beginners class set for Sept. 17 and Sept. 24 and Oct. 1 and Oct. 8. Class is $40. Grow Your Own Onions and Garlic: Livingston Master Gardeners will present a class in how to grow onions and garlic from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sept. 25. $35. Navigating Senior Care Services: Class set for Sept. 18. This free event helps seniors navigate senior care services. For a complete schedule and registration information, visit https://southeastern.nbsstore. net/life-long-learning-livingston-center.
9/11 stair climb set at SLU Southeastern Louisiana University’s Office of Military and Veteran Success and the University Police Department are hosting the inaugural 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb at the University Center. Scheduled at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 11 at the University Center, the event is being held in honor of the 343 New York City firefighters who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001. Southeastern students, faculty, staff and community members are invited to join in climbing 110 stories. T-shirts will be available to purchase for $15 via debit card, credit card or Venmo to the first 150 participants and prizes will be given to the largest team, the fastest team and the fastest individual. Those unable to physically complete the stair climb are invited to attend and show support, or they can sign up as volunteers. To register for the event or to volunteer, complete the google form at https://forms. gle/f11ACMQXphzX64JWA.
ä See AROUND, page 2G
PHOTO BY APRIL BUFFINGTON
Doyle Junior High’s football team runs back to the side line after half time against North Corbin Junior High on Aug. 26 on Walker High School’s football field.
After nearly 40 years, Doyle has school football team again BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer
For the first time in 39 years, residents of the town of Livingston donned purple and gold and packed into the stands to watch their sons, friends and students play a football game. The fans cheered for a team of 40 seventh graders wearing brand new jerseys and representing the Doyle Tigers at a jamboree game Aug. 26 against North Corbin at Walker
High School. The young team, composed mostly of boys who had never played a down of organized football in their lives, didn’t score at the preseason game. But the players, coaches and residents all say what they are doing out on the field is bigger than any scoreboard. “You could just feel an excitement,” Livingston Mayor JT Taylor said about the scrimmage. “The first first down, you would’ve thought we won the Super Bowl.” In 1986, the Doyle High School varsity foot-
ball team played its last season, going 0-10. The school then disbanded the program after more than 20 years. Nearly four decades later, Doyle is bringing back its junior high football program, with the team playing its first season this fall. For now, Friday night lights aren’t returning to the town of about 2,000 residents. But the district has plans to move to a high school junior varsity program in about two years,
ä See DOYLE, page 2G
Denham Springs hits pool for preseason meet
With high school swimming getting ready for the start of its season, the new pool at the AC Lewis YMCA in Baton Rouge provided an optimal venue for several teams, including Denham Springs, to have a preseason STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON meet. Finding an available regulation Denham Springs Berkley May flies through the water in the pool is not an easy task, but things 100 yard butterfly during a quad meet on Saturday at the came together nicely for the fourteam meet held two weeks ago. AC Lewis YMCA in Baton Rouge.
Charles Salzer SPORTS ROUNDUP
“It’s challenging finding an open pool that is legal to swim in as far as depth and starting blocks,” Denham Springs swim coach Margot May said. “The YMCA has a brand new one.” The pool, located in midtown Baton Rouge, opened earlier this year when renovations to the AC Lewis YMCA were
ä See SALZER, page 3G