If you’re an Artesia High School student athlete and you hear a noise outside your home the night before a game, don’t be alarmed – you’re just being "Prowled."

The Paw Prowlers are a group of AHS students dedicated to putting their spirited support behind the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs.

"Dedicated" is also the operative word for the Prowlers – the girls often spend the majority of their free time accomplishing their goal of generating pre-game excitement.

During the week leading up to a game, the Prowlers put their creativity to the test, creating posters to hang around the halls at school and constructing the large banner that adorns the press box for home football games, where they also assist in holding the victory lane boundary ropes.

Their best-known activity, however, is "Prowling." That involves making posters and collecting goodies to deliver to varsity athletes on the evenings prior to games.

Sounds simple. Until one considers that there are currently 131 athletes and coaches being "Prowled" in the varsity football, volleyball and soccer programs, divided between only 31 girls. And that who "Prowls" who is supposed to be kept secret.

"We put a lot of hard work into it," says senior Stasha Parker.

Each Paw Prowler is assigned specific "Prowlees," of whom they are in charge for the duration of that particular season.

Along with their hand-made posters, the Paw Prowlers collect items such as Gatorade, candy bars, chips, packs of gum, cocoa, popcorn, licorice and soft drinks to distribute to players and coaches.

That can be time consuming, especially on Thursdays, when the Prowlers face delivery to the school’s most populous program, the Bulldog football team.

"We spend at least three hours on Thursdays putting the posters together and stuff before we ever even start taking them around," says junior Cristin Day. "We put a lot of time into it because we try to make the things we do creative."

Because of the secrecy factor, the Paw Prowlers, traveling in groups of two or three, make their deliveries under cover of night, which has led to a variety of dilemmas.

"Being a Paw Prowler has not always been easy," says sophomore Sandra Martinez. "You can pay a lot of consequences."

Prowlers have tripped in holes and over lawn ornaments on their way across darkened yards, tumbled out of parked vehicles in their haste, and been chased by everything from dogs to police to the "Prowlees" themselves, who sometimes enjoy attempting to catch a glimpse of their Prowlers.

Following one trip, the Prowlers were amusedly informed that, after hearing a noise outside that turned out to be the Paw Prowlers, football assistant coach Jed Figg’s frightened wife left her beans on the stove while she went to investigate and returned to find them burned.

Despite the job hazards, however, the Paw Prowlers say they enjoy doing all they can to support their teams.

"Paw Prowling is a lot of hard work, but it’s interesting and fun at the same time," says senior Marisa Valenzuela.

"It’s a great way to show our support for all the different sports," says senior Kanda McLurg.

Created as an organization in 1995, the Paw Prowlers fall under new leadership this year in the person of Diana Harvey.

"Diana has done a really awesome job with the program," says senior Lindsay Combs. "She’s made it better this year than it ever has been."

"The girls are really great," says Harvey of the Paw Prowlers. "They really depend on each other, and they’re working well as a group. We’ve taken the program from five members to 31, and those 31 have been with me from day one. I’m really very proud of them."

In addition to their Prowling duties, the girls are working on other projects, such as selling Bulldog-jersey-shaped water bottle kooshies and preparing for their annual Powder Puff game on Oct. 19, where roles are reversed as the girls play football and the boys grab the pom-poms to cheer them on.