St. Louis Rams Star Jake Long Visits Five Acres Animal Shelter

As an offensive tackle for the St. Louis Rams he hears the roar of the crowd whenever he steps on to a football field, and as a member of a team that helps to tackle the problem of pet homelessness Jake Long hears barks and purrs of appreciation.

In celebration of National Puppy Day, the sports star and his wife Jackie recently received a little puppy love as they volunteered for the afternoon at Five Acres Animal Shelter, a no-kill facility in St. Charles, Missouri which has saved the lives of companion animals in need for more than 40 years.

Long is among a pack of professional football, baseball and ice hockey players who are ambassadors for Athletes for Animals, which was established in late 2013 by St. Louis Blues captain David Backes and his wife (who together helped to rescue puppies during the winter Olympics in Sochi) to offer financial assistance to rescue organizations, promote the option of pet adoption and educate the public about responsible pet guardianship. The organization hosted Stars of Sochi, its first official fundraiser, on March 16th, with members of the St. Louis Blues who represented Canada, Sweden, Russia and the United States in the 2014 winter Olympic games raising more than $60,000 for the paws cause.

For more information regarding Athletes for Animals:

• visit http://athletesforanimals.org

Cheers to National Puppy Day!  Jake & Jackie Long with @5_Acres cute 9 week Golden mixes #adoptdontshop pic.twitter.com/alZakZhM8k

— Athletes For Animals (@A4A_org) March 23, 2014

Photo Credit: Twitter/Athletes for Animals