During the holidays, it's important to be surrounded by people who love and care about you. This isn't just true for humans, but also for dogs, whose ideal Thanksgiving involves a few sneaky bites of turkey and a whole lot of love.
Unfortunately, not every dog has a loving home to go to for the holidays. Every year, millions of dogs spend the holidays alone in an animal shelter, but the LifeLine Animal Project in Atlanta is working to change that.
This year, the no-kill shelter launched its inaugural Home for the Pawlidays program. On their website, the shelter asked for 20 volunteers to foster their dogs for a week, so that they could experience Thanksgiving with a real family.
So far, all of the dogs are loving their holiday homes and can't get enough of their foster families. Check out some of these incredible dogs below!
Thumbnail Photos: Facebook / LifeLine Animal Project
[H/T: TODAY]
This year, the LifeLine Animal Project launched Home for the Pawlidays, a weeklong foster program in which shelter dogs can leave the shelter and have a home for Thanksgiving.
The shelter pays for all of the dog's needs, including food and pet supplies, so all the families have to do is give the dog a place to stay!
Thanks to this initiative, 20 lucky dogs were able to leave the shelter for a week and are spending Thanksgiving with a loving family.
Studies have shown that even just one night outside of a shelter can reduce a dog's stress levels, so this program will be good for the dogs and foster parents alike.
“For our family, Thanksgiving is a time of relaxation and connecting,” foster mom Elizabeth Polly told TODAY. “We share a wonderful meal surrounded by those we love, including our fur babies.”
If all goes well, these weeklong stays could turn into permanent homes for some lucky pups!
“If they seem like they are comfortable with our two current dogs and children and daily routine,” said Polly on the likelihood that she will adopt her foster friend. “That is definitely a possibility.”
Mr. Big has been waiting to get adopted since July, but thanks to his Thanksgiving foster family, he'll get a chance to leave the shelter and experience home life for a week.
Winnie, another dog who got to leave the shelter for the holidays, even traveled to a different state and learned about the history of Kentucky!
Other pups, like Missy, were just excited to go home and sleep in a warm bed.
Just look at that smile!
To follow these dogs during their Thanksgiving journeys, make sure to check out the hashtag #LifeLinePawlidays on Facebook and Instagram.
Do you know someone who would love to foster a dog this Thanksgiving? Make sure to SHARE this story with them on Facebook!