On Monday, the sound of barking dogs echoed down a hallway of kennels at the Jacksonville Humane Society. Director Dianne Wiles said it's not what she and her staff want to hear on Christmas Eve, just three days away. They’re hoping no dogs or cats will be left at the shelter on Beach Boulevard over the holiday.
The Humane Society is looking to place all adoptable shelter animals in warm, cozy foster homes over the holidays, and the hope is for them to become forever homes in the new year.
“This is our fourth year off doing ‘silent night,’ so it’s become quite a tradition here,” Wiles said. “And it’s a very important tradition. We want to make sure that all of our shelter animals get into loving homes for the holidays."
She says around 20 cats and 50 dogs are still in need of foster homes to keep the shelter "silent." One of those dogs is Jethro, a medium sized chocolate mutt.
He was wearing a red bandana and carrying around a green squeaky toy in an outdoor play area at the shelter Monday. Adoption Counselor Dylan Young says Jethro is 7 years old, so he's out of his party stage.
“[He’s] kind of at the point where he wants to just hang out and relax and play with people,” Young said. “He’s super calm, super sweet. He listens to his name.”
Wiles says big dogs are the hardest to foster out, but people like Royce Hollingsworth are a big help. He was at the shelter Monday to pick his “silent night” temporary foster.
“The bigger the better for me, honestly,” Hollingsworth said. “I love big dogs. I’ve had big dogs all my life. The big, clumsy leaners are my favorite.”
He says if everything goes smoothly, he plans to adopt the dog too.
The Humane Society is encouraging foster parents to post about the animals on social media and take them out on “adopt me” leashes so they won’t have to come back to a shelter.
