As cars drove along Stella Link on a crisp, sunny, fall afternoon, Lance McCullers and his wife, Kara, were all grins.

It was mid-morning on a Monday. There was nothing major happening in the empty parking lot of a strip center near NRG Stadium. No crowd of onlookers hoping for an autograph or selfie. No bright orange, newly purchased Astros T-shirts.

Just Lance, Kara, a handful of other volunteers and hundreds of homeless dogs and cats set up in a makeshift shelter.

Since Hurricane Harvey, the population of stray pets in Houston has risen. Organizations like Houston Pets Alive have set up makeshift shelters to handle the load. They have one goal: to keep all these strays from being euthanized.

Lance and Kara are trying to do everything they can to help. The World Series is over, and Lance and his teammates have been on a whirlwind tour of TV appearances and fan engagements. He has also kept busy volunteering at the local shelter.

This particular one is on the clock. Currently located in an old grocery store, it has been given a Dec. 6 eviction notice. Its operators need a place to go or enough money to rent a new space as soon as possible.

While that's an obvious concern, the volunteers don't have much time to dwell on it. There's work to do.

Lance and Kara are regulars here. They frequently walk down the aisles of crated dogs, take them out for walks, play for a few minutes.

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On Monday afternoon, Lance found a black lab mix with an orange tag on his crate. The orange tags are for the dogs who have been there the longest.

Lance took him through the parking lot to a grassy area, where he, Kara and the dog played for 15 or so minutes. The sheer joy radiating from Lance spoke volumes. This is truly his passion.

His love for animals started like a lot of people's. He had a rescue dog - a black lab mix named Missy - growing up.

Since then, he has routinely adopted and taken care of animals. He and Kara currently have two adopted dogs, Minka and Riggs. And they spend a lot of time checking in on those in shelters across the city.

Kara searched for specific dogs when they showed up Monday. One had been adopted. Another was recovering from an illness and had her energy and spunk back.

Lance took photos of several and posted them to his Instagram account - @lancemccullers43 - where he continues to put all the information he can gather on each animal in hopes of finding them homes.

Using his platform

He realizes that since the Astros' playoff run and World Series championship, he has more eyes on him than ever. He's using the newfound fame to reach even more people who can help these animals.

"I hope I can have more reach," he said. "I hope we can find them all homes. That's the goal."

Lance and Kara are genuine in their work and dedication to this cause. They don't just show up every once in a while. They walk through the shelter and help feed, walk and clean up after the animals. They ask a lot of questions, try to learn everything they can about each animal and its condition.

Lance didn't waste time when he was called up to the Astros in May 2015. While engaged in his debut big league season and finding his footing in the majors, he started working with Houston Pets Alive right away.

"It's just something that is really important to me," he said.

He hopes he can keep helping the organization save pets, and he also hopes he can continue to be a spokesperson for the city's stray problem.

Spreading the word

"It all starts with spaying and neutering your pets," he said. "Pet owners need to do this, and then we can limit how many homeless pets there are. Also, I would just encourage anyone who can help to do it. Whether you can volunteer or donate money or, even better, provide a good home for an animal. It's worth all your time and effort."

The World Series is over, and things are finally starting to calm down. For Lance and Kara, though, a lot more work is ahead. The two live in Houston full time now and plan to work closely with rescue organizations to try to keep animals from being killed. They'll keep volunteering, doing outreach and working for better lives for stray animals.

Lance sat in the grass with a puppy named Candy Corn, who was recovering from being sick last week, while volunteers walked other dogs. He taught her to sit and rewarded her with a good belly rub. He smiled while she gazed up at him, and Kara snapped a few photos for social media.

When he took her back to her crate inside, the small animal didn't want to leave his side. Lance comforted her as he led her back to her bed.

Reason to smile

The crate next to hers housed a retriever mix with a cast on her broken front leg. Her cage had a yellow tag with the words "I'm adopted!" printed on it. Lance and Kara grinned when they saw it. One more off to a good home.

"There's nothing like the feeling you get from rescuing an animal," Lance said. "It's so rewarding. They are so loyal and grateful. And they bring so much joy to your life. I hope everyone considers bringing one home during the holidays."