How you can bring joy to shelter pets during the holidays
When it comes to gifts for pets, there are always lots of options. But what if you had the chance to give shelter pets the best gift at the best time? And that's a home for the holidays.
The Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center is holding two events this year to help get pets out of the shelter and into a home for the holidays. The shelter's dog population is at more than 150 percent of capacity, nearly double the typical numbers for this time of year, with more dogs and cats coming in each day.
The Happy Howl-idays adoption event will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, at the shelter, 440 N. Falkenburg Rd., Tampa, FL 33619. Come take part in the holiday cheer as well as the following activities:
PRC pet meet and greets
Waived adoption fees
Assemble enrichment treats for PRC pets
Create your own personalized ID tags for your new best friend
In addition to the Happy Howl-idays adoption event, the Silent Night foster program puts pets into foster homes for a short period of time over the holidays. Residents willing to foster a dog or cat can pick up the pet and pet food from the shelter sometime between Dec. 20 and Dec. 23. They will provide a home and love, then return the dog or cat between Dec. 27 and Dec. 30, meaning the foster parent will only have the pet for four to 10 days.
This is the second year of the Silent Night program, and shelter officials hope it will continue to provide many benefits. Kennels are meant to be a short-term home, not a long-term one, and some of the dogs and cats desperately need a break from the overcrowded shelter and the stress it brings. Additionally, pets in foster programs open up space at the shelter for other dogs and cats. And sometimes, the foster parents or their friends or family end up adopting the pets.
Information and photos of the dogs and cats at the shelter can be seen online. Any pets listed as "Ready to Go" are eligible for this program. To foster, please visit the PRC Foster Page to sign up, and select Silent Night in the general interests section.
To adopt a pet or learn more about the Pet Resource Center, head to the Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center webpage.