After the overwhelming success of the first one, Hot Springs Animal Services will once again be hosting a pet adoption event just in time for the Christmas season.
The second annual Home for the Holidays will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at the shelter, located at 319 Davidson Drive, offering half price adoptions with dogs available for $27.50 and cats for $17.50, which includes spaying or neutering, rabies vaccinations and a microchip for each pet.
The shelter will be decorated for the holidays and the staff will offer hot cocoa and cookies and Christmas music, Hot Springs police Sgt. Christopher Lackey, HSAS director, said Friday, noting they will have bandanas on the dogs and bows on all the cages.
Lackey said the event was the "brainchild" of Michelle Stone, the shelter's coordinator, noting they had talked about maybe hosting an adoption event at Garvan Woodland Gardens, but decided against it.
"People are allowed to bring their pets out there and we didn't want to bring ours out there and potentially have a problem," he said.
Stone "suggested we have something here and call it Home for the Holidays so we put up decorations paid for with donations and she made a flyer and put it out on social media," Lackey said.
"Last year exceeded our expectations. We had 22 adoptions in that one day. Some during the day, but most that night," he said.
"The parking lot was full and we had people here all night long. It was really great. In and out we had about 100 people in here."
The Garland County Sheriff's Department will have staff there handing out $50 off spay and neuter vouchers, with a limit of one voucher per household every six months. He said while the shelter spays and neuters the pets they adopt out, some people come who have other pets and may need the vouchers.
He said the cost of spaying and neutering can vary depending on the size and weight of the dog, noting "it can range anywhere from $65 up to $100 for your bigger dogs."
Lackey said at last year's event a couple came in who bought 10 adoptions for others. "They paid it forward which was really awesome," he said. "They didn't adopt any themselves, they just paid it ahead for others who came in wanting to adopt."
He said employees' families come out and "even if you don't adopt a pet, we encourage people to come out and look, see the lights, have some cocoa and cookies. Visit with the staff," noting the event is "kind of like an open house. You can see what it is we do here."
At present, the shelter is housing about 45 to 50 dogs, Lackey said, noting "we don't have as many cats. Under 10 I think. It's not really the season for cats." He said they have three kittens from one litter that "will be scarfed up pretty quick."
He said they have the "mama cat too. A Manx cat that's so sweet. They have bob tails."
Lackey stressed that they only want people adopting who intend to make the animal "a forever pet," noting that sometimes "the cuteness level overloads the practicality of it." He said some people will get a pet during the holiday without thinking ahead of the responsibility involved.
"You need to check with your landlord. If you're an adult living with your parents or other family, check with them first," he said. "Make sure you're fit to have that pet and plan to keep it."
He said Police Chief Jason Stachey is expected to attend and he encouraged other city employees and city directors to come out and "see what we do and just enjoy the holidays with us."
Lackey said when someone adopts a pet, "you're not just saving one life, you're saving two. You're saving the pet you adopt, but you're also making room for one more."
Local on 12/08/2019