Pokémon Go has gone to the dogs

A Facebook post by MAS superintendent Phil Peckinpaugh broke the Internet and brought more dog walkers to the shelter. Audrey Kirby/The Star Press

636041208349625811-Chewy.JPG
(Photo: Stephanie Hope Hawkins for USA TODAY)
SAN FRANCISCO — Chewy, a nine-month-old Shih Tzu, never liked walks much. He'd take care of his business then lie down in the street, refusing to budge until his owner, hair stylist Stephanie Hope Hawkins, gave up and headed for home.

But ever since Hawkins downloaded Pokémon Go, Chewy's been wearing out the pavement, logging almost two miles on daily walks around his Fort Lauderdale neighborhood.

"I'm one of those nerds who waited two years for the game to come out. Growing up I had all the toys and cards and movies," Hawkins, 23, says.

This is not your typical game of fetch. Pokémon Go, the popular smartphone game that sends people out in the world to capture monsters from the Japanese cartoon franchise, has unleashed a new phenomenon: People are firing up their smartphones and dragging their dogs on monster-fetching marathons.

Waffles's paws have been getting a workout ever since owner and longtime gamer William Kimbark downloaded the popular smartphone game and started taking an additional 2,000 to 3,000 steps each day. The two-year-old Maltese Shih Tzu mix is walking twice as far on evening walks.

"It gives me a reason: I've got to take the dog for a walk. If I tell my wife, I am going to play Pokémon Go for a half hour, it wouldn't go over as well," said Kimbark, a 29-year-old market researcher from Long Island.

When you had a full day catching Pokemon #tired#sleep#dog#PokemonGO#dogtired#puppy#snoring#adorablepic.twitter.com/ZCPB9vm8hd
— William Kimbark (@kimbark87) July 13, 2016
Fellow Pokemon Go fans, William Kimbark and his dog
Fellow Pokemon Go fans, William Kimbark and his dog Waffles (Photo: William Kimbark for USA TODAY)
Even dogs who don't enjoy wandering too far afield are getting into the game.

Rae Master, a 30-year-old digital art director and blogger from Orange County, Calif., has a one-eyed dog named Huxley whom she rescued. Abused and neglected by his previous owners, Huxley's nervous about leaving his neighborhood. So Master carries him in her arms with her iPhone in the other hand as she hits every PokeStop on Balboa Island.

During one of their evening walks around the island's three-mile perimeter, they ran into a neighbor sitting on a bench, which is also a PokeStop — where you can collect more PokeBalls and other virtual items.

Rae Master's dog Huxley on a Pokemon Go hunt.
Rae Master's dog Huxley on a Pokemon Go hunt. (Photo: Rae Master)
"I'd never met her but she was enthralled by Huxley," Master says. "As I shared Hux's heartwarming rescue story with her, and explained why Huxley only has one eye, there it was. A Pidgey. Right in front of her. I had to multitask and continue sharing the story as I threw my PokeBall at that little rascal."

With their humans leading packs around town, some dogs are getting so worn out, they've inspired their own Internet meme. Pooped pooches are popping up all over social media.

Among them is Madi, a 2 1/2 year old Shar-Pei mix. Her normal route hits a gym (a place to battle other monsters) and two PokeStops. But if her owner, Staci Ardison, a 32-year-old operations leader at NerdFitness.com in Austin, Tex., walks her "just a tiny bit further," Madi can hit nine PokeStops.

Madi used to cover two to three miles a day. Now that has doubled, if not tripled. And Madi is feeling it. After long jaunts, Madi sleeps a lot more, which has made the cat happier.

My dog after too much #PokemonGO he says PokemonStop pic.twitter.com/hTjnxJzXZo
— Kat Nicole B (@KatNicoleB) July 13, 2016
"The other day, we walked by the apartment, and she wanted to go back in but a Cubone showed up on my tracker so I decided we would keep walking, and about 100 yards from the door she just plopped down, put her head in the grass and refused to go any further," Ardison said. "Still, for the most part she gets super excited every time I ask if she wants to go."

Walking dogs while playing Pokémon has become such a common pastime that there are even safety tips: stick to dog-friendly areas, avoid busy streets, stay alert to your surroundings so you don't walk "into the mouth of a hungry Gyarados" not to mention cars or other people and dogs and don't walk farther than your dog can ("If you’re going a mile out of the way to track an Abra and your dog isn’t capable of walking that far, it’s time to let Abra go.")

Madi exhausted from all the #PokemonGo.
##pokemon#madithepokemontrainer#dog#puppy#mad… https://t.co/ennVvB6Z7Lpic.twitter.com/wa0LswblgM
— Staci Ardison (@StaciArdison) July 11, 2016
For dogs who don't always get a chance to frolic outdoors, Pokemon has been a gift.

Earlier this week Phil Peckinpaugh, the superintendent of the animal shelter in Muncie, In., downloaded Pokemon Go and took his six-year-old daughter and her dog on a Pokemon walk. The next morning he spotted college students and other young people all over town wandering around aimlessly staring at their phones.

Phil Peckinpaugh, the superintendent of the Muncie
Phil Peckinpaugh, the superintendent of the Muncie Animal Shelter in Muncie, In., started a program for volunteers to walk shelter dogs while playing Pokemon Go. He's seen here with one of the shelter dogs playing Pokemon Go. (Photo: Phil Peckinpaugh)
That's when the idea hit him. This Pokémon Go fan posted on Facebook: "Trying to Hatch an Egg or Catch Rare Pokémon? Come down to the Muncie Animal Shelter to walk one of our dogs while you get your steps in! Just come to the front desk and say you are here for the Pokémon dogs!"

"It took off like a rocket," says Peckinpaugh, who had to buy more leashes.

On Wednesday, 73 Pokémon players showed up to walk shelter dogs. On Thursday, 80 more scampered off with a dog in tow.

Other dog shelters are now trying to lure Pokémon catchers, too.

And in Muncie, the story had a very happy ending for two lucky dogs. They were adopted.

Follow senior technology writer Jessica Guynn at @jguynn