Volunteering at an animal shelter, maybe? Not only will they not charge you for it, they’ll be glad for the help. And yes, playing with the animals does help them: They need to keep the animals socialized if they’re to be adoptable.
A buddy of mine breeds Golden Retrievers. When my gf needs to de-stress and he has a litter, we go over and she sits amongst them. They pile on and she giggles.
Know any breeders? If you were nearby (western Pennsylvania) I could set up a visit. You couldn’t have any recent visits/contact with kennels/shelters/dog parks/etc.
Maybe rescue groups? Although puppies at those places tend to fly out the door (not literally), you might get lucky and find a swarm of Goldens; not that I’m specifically endorsing Goldens, you understand (looks like I am).
A few years ago, wife and I were at S Phillys Italian Market. I forget why, but I went up to a side door of a building and looked in and it was a puppy (or just dog) daycare. 10 or so dogs were having a ball playing with each other and it made both of our days.
So maybe look for that and be somones lunch break coverage?
Not really helpful for the OP but I have to share a related story.
When my wife was dying, several of her friends came from out of town to have one final visit with her. For several weeks previous to this (when she was sick but we didn’t know that she was dying), she had been thinking that she wanted to get a puppy to play with in her sick bed. She had been working with one of these out-of-town friends about this and they had decided on a Bichon Frise. Well, that plan fell through, but when the friends arrived, they thought it would be great if they could rent or borrow a dog for a day and bring it to my wife.
So where the hell do you rent a dog? They went out to lunch and were sitting outside the restaurant making phone calls trying to find a way to get a dog for a day. While they were sitting there, they saw a man and woman walking TWO Bichon Frises. They ran up to them and explained the situation. Amazingly, the couple agreed to give them their dogs for the day.
The group arrived back at out house with the two dogs, and my wife burst into tears of joy. I am forever grateful to those two people who agreed to give their dogs to a bunch of strangers. There were a lot of emotional moments in my wife’s last days, but that was one of the more positive ones.
The Anti-Cruelty Society in Chicago is an easy trek for us. We can’t pretend to be volunteers for that (it’s a whole process) but we could pretend to be looking to adopt.
I used to volunteer there many years ago. We didn’t mind taking dogs or cats out to be played with. As you said, the socialization was good for them and they liked getting out of their cages. Win-win.
Not the same as a pen of puppies (most dogs there are adults) but it is certainly doable.
Probably not helping for you, but in Japan pet cafes are very common. You pay a small fee and for a limited time you get to be surrounded by very cute animals. We did it once in Kyoto with puppies and it was very fun.
I think I heard that the concept was spreading to other countries.
I knew a husband & wife who each had terminal diagnoses when their geriatric dog died. I suggested that they look into a “group adoption” where they and family members would share in dog care and responsibility .
Their one son loved the idea. He helped with dog care, kept the dog on days when his parents were both in the hospital, while most days the dog was with the parents all day. The dog also served as a reason for him to spend weekends with his parents.
Three years later, the dog was with him permanently, a living memory of his parents.
Post on FaceBook that you’d be willing to donate to a rescue group in exchange for a foster parent of puppies letting you bring her by for a visit (at a mutually agreeable appointed time). Foster homes of rescue groups are where there are ‘piles of puppies’(and always great need of funds for supplies and vet care).
Or search on line for rescue groups and make the offer to them directly if you’d rather not deal with FB.
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