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MURRAY — For the fifth consecutive year, dogs without a home will have a place to spend the holidays in warmth and love, thanks to the Humane Society of Utah.
In a program known as "Home for the Holidays," the Humane Society allows volunteers to bring a dog home from their shelter in Murray for the holidays. The dogs are taken for their "temporary adoptions," spend the Christmas holiday with a loving family, and then are returned to the shelter when it reopens Saturday.
"We love to look at our shelter as a hotel," said Deann Shepherd of the Humane Society of Utah. "We want to provide the best accommodations we can for the temporary time they're with us. But of course a dog wants to be home, spoiled, playing with kids, and snuggle up by a fire. Who wouldn't?"
The shelter is hoping the "temporary" tag can sometimes be removed through this process, and they're often right. They ran the same type of event on Thanksgiving this year, putting 37 dogs out for temporary adoption — 10 of which never needed to return to the shelter.
"Chances are, most of those foster parents who take the animal home for the holiday will fall in love and end up adopting it," said Shepherd.
It's all a part of the giving cycle for all involved. The pups get a home, for a day or two at least, and help bring a little extra love to the families they stay with. In many cases, the adopters themselves get to offer an animal a permanent home before it's all said and done.
"I'm probably going to get too attached," said Grace Chamberlain, a Bountiful resident who took home a new friend named Maverik. She certainly won't be the only one.
Contributing: Ben Dowsett
