FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — If you are looking for a furry friend to join your Thanksgiving gathering this year, then look no further than Fayetteville Animal Services.
Until Saturday, Nov. 30, Fayetteville Animal Services said they are in need of short-term fosters for their shelter dogs as part of their Home for the Holidays program.
"It's just where we invite our community to think about inviting a shelter pet into their home for a week, dogs specifically, just to get them out of the shelter," Fayetteville Animal Services Superintendent Justine Lentz said. "A week is still a great time frame to give these dogs a break from their kennel and get them into a home."
Fayetteville Animal Shelter said those who decide to foster can do so for as short as four days.
Lentz added that fostering dogs for even just a week can help the process of getting the dogs adopted sooner.
"A brief period of time can have such a huge impact on their mental health and well-being, and just makes them more adoptable," Lentz said. "The more we know about them in a home environment, the more we can help match them up with the perfect adoptive home."
According to Fayetteville Animal Services’ Facebook page, as of Monday, the shelter has 24 adoptable dogs and 22 adoptable kennels. Every dog is healthy and spayed or neutered, according to the shelter.
As of Oct. 31, the shelter said they have seen 682 adoptions and rescues, which Lentz said is less than last year.
"Our dogs, particularly our bigger dogs, which is pretty much everything we have back there, it's just a lot harder to find homes for them," Lentz said. "Whether it's the housing crisis, finances, that kind of stuff, it just makes it a lot more difficult."
As the weather begins to cool and shelter space begins to fill, Lentz said the need for fosters becomes that much more important.
"Fostering doesn't have to be scary," Lentz said. "It's not a lifetime commitment or anything like that if you don't want it to be. It's just a great way to give back and show a pet some extra love during the holiday season or any time of year."
For those who are interested in adopting the pet they foster during the program, Fayetteville Animal Services said they will waive the adoption fees.
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