Families and individuals considering adopting a pet have the perfect opportunity to try a “test run” by adopting from the Augusta Animal Shelter for free over the Christmas weekend.
Prospective new pet parents can visit the shelter, located at 4164 Mack Lane, from noon to 4 p.m.
The pets are sent out with prospective owners with food and a bag of treats.
The animals stay in the care of the prospective adoptive parent for the holiday season and can be brought back to the animal shelter after New Years and dropped back off.
However, according to Animal Services Deputy Director of Crystal Eskola, most of the animals that are fostered for a holiday couple of weeks end up remaining a part of the family.
“I would say that over 80% of the foster animals we send out through the ‘Home for the Holiday’ event stay on as permanent adoptions and we love that,” Eskola said.
According to Eskola, 13 animals were adopted out on the first day of the drive.
One animal looking for a new home is six-year-old Sam, who was brought to the shelter when his owners discovered they were having twins.
He is a tree walker coonhound with a quick intellect and tons of personality. He loves people and attention; Sam gets along with dogs, but doesn’t much like to play with other dogs. He is not dog aggressive – he just doesn’t want to interact.
Being a hound, he also loves following his nose and investigating all the scent trails when he is out for a walk or in the yard. Hounds are vocal and they bark, but the hound sound is the “song of his people” and Sam will sing for you his song.
For most of his life, he has been an indoor dog, so he is totally house-trained.
Sam loves human affection and will lean against you for lots of pets. He plays with toys and doesn’t seem to mind sharing them.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
