Home 4 the Holidays seeks to place pets in good homes
With Christmas just around the corner, there is one last minute gift that could bring the most joy of all – a pet.
Ria Brown with Lee County Animal Services said December is traditionally a slow time for adoption across the country but after launching Home 4 the Holidays seven years ago, adopting pets has become a popular program in Lee County.
“Back in 2001 we kind of got on board with Home 4 the Holidays,” she said. “It’s a national program. It was started by a shelter out in California that kind of looked at the history of shelters not adopting pets out during the holidays. We realized how in a non-perfect world, how impractical that was. So they tried to get as many shelters in the United States on board.”
The Christmas holidays are a time when pet sales are on the rise, Brown said, “and if you’re not adopting in December during the holidays, you’re really missing out on the part of the year that many people are planning to add a pet to their family. If we don’t adopt to these people, they end up going somewhere else to get a pet and often they’ll make the wrong decision and end up here later.”
Brown said she doesn’t necessarily see a spike in stray dogs during the holidays.
“It’s about the same, but since we started doing Home 4 the Holidays, it’s one of our higher adoption months,” she said.
Brown said even with the downturn of the economy, the shelter hasn’t been drastically affected.
“We primarily take in stray pets here,” she said. “A lot of people say that they’re just abandoning their pets and obviously a lot of people do have issues about being able to keep their pets. But we’re not seeing an increase in strays so that means they’re not just dumping them, they’re trying to do something.”
Brown said when people go to the Lee County Animal Shelter to surrender their pets they try to give them other alternatives first.
“Like private shelters because they don’t take in strays, which is our primary function,” she said.
Brown said people typically want to surrender pets because they didn’t think it out, “or they have too many pets; the pet doesn’t fit their lifestyle or they’ve had a change in their life like a divorce or a new baby or suddenly somebody has allergies. Those are the typical reasons we’ve been seeing for decades.”
Brown said staff at the animal shelter try to encourage pet owners to either contact a private shelter or find a new home for the pet on their own.
“We obviously don’t have space here,” she said, adding that behavior issues can be solved without getting rid of a pet. “We really think we need to fix the behavior issue first. If you surrender the pet to the shelter the next person that adopts is going to have the same issues. There are a lot of dog trainers that can work with you on fixing those behaviors.”
The animal shelter now has a hotline to receive help from dog trainers who volunteer their time to help solve animal behavior problems, Brown said.
To access help with training problem pets, people can call the main number at 533-7387 (LEE PETS) and listen to the options.
“We have pet trainers who check that hotline and they call the people back,” she said, adding that some shelter board members participate in the program as well as other volunteers.
Brown says people interested in adopting a pet should do some research before deciding on a breed or type of animal.
“Then if you think you want a dog, do some research on the characteristics of different breeds,” she said. “A good example is a Jack Russell terrier. People think, “Oh, great they’re small.’ But a Jack Russell is like a big dog in a small body. They need a place to run and they’re very energetic. So just knowing about the breed is going to keep an animal from being returned.”
Brown said when kids are involved, she advises parents to make the final decision on a pet.
Many children want small breeds like Chihuahuas, Brown said, which could be a mistake.
“A lot of times, small breed dogs get very stressed by children trying to pick them up and trying to cart them around,” she said. “A lot of times I think they’re better off with a medium to large dog that’s a lot sturdier and doesn’t mind the kids laying all over it. That’s not to say that every small dog is going to be a bad choice for a family, but those are things you’ve got to think about.”
If you’re interested in adopting a pet, Brown said you must first fill out an application at the Lee County Animal Shelter located at 5600 Banner Drive, just off Six Mile Cypress Road behind the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
She recommends potential adopters fill out the application before visiting the available dogs to keep handling at a minimum for health reasons.
Once the application is complete, people are allowed to take pets to a play area outside the facility away from other pets.
“The rules we have are really to match up the right person with the right pet,” she said.
All pets will be up to date on shots, de-wormed, treatment for fleas, rabies vaccination when appropriate, a county license, training DVD, a bag of Science Diet pet food and micro-identification chip.
“We give them everything they need when they go out the door,” she said, adding that pets also have a 10 day health guarantee. “If the pet does come down with something once they leave here for the next 10 days we’re your veterinarian.”
Cost for adoption is $95 for puppies; adult dogs $75; senior pets, over six years old, $25; kittens $75 and adult cats $50.
Brown said if you adopt during the holidays, you also get a special pet toy and will be eligible to win a pet bed.
To see pictures of pets available for adoption go to leelostpets.com and click on Search for a Pet to Adopt.