Minneapolis Animal Care and Control is rolling out holiday programs to manage a wintertime surge in animal arrivals, waiving adoption fees for city residents and advising people against gifting pets for the holidays. Animal Care and Control urges thoughtful adoption holidays.

The shelter says the initiatives are aimed at keeping animals moving into homes and temporary care as demand rises during the season, with particular pressure from large dogs that are harder to place. Madison Weissenborn, volunteer coordinator for Animal Care and Control, described a steady community need for support that has become more pronounced in winter. Nationally, pet adoption rates typically increase during this period, underscoring the importance of initiatives like these.

Weissenborn emphasized the shelter’s difficulty finding short-term homes for bigger animals. “We can always, always find fosters for kittens, and we can find fosters for the cute and fluffy, but it’s kind of those big blockheads or the big guys that that tend to, you know, really need the help,” she said in remarks to Audacy. The urgency of finding suitable homes for larger breeds is evident.

As part of the holiday push, the agency has removed adoption fees for residents of the city to encourage placements and short-term fostering. Alongside this, officials are also urging families to avoid presenting animals as surprise gifts and to involve all household members in the decision to bring a pet home.

On that point, Weissenborn noted the pitfalls of gifting an animal without ensuring the recipient is prepared. “So, although it is like a super cute moment of it jumping out of a box, you just want to make sure that, you know, whoever is on the receiving end of that gift is equally understanding of what it takes to own a pet,” she said. For new pet owners, resources are available from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), including guides for emergency preparedness and pet ownership responsibilities.

Animal Care and Control framed the holiday programs as practical measures to keep animals safe and reduce pressure on shelter space during a seasonal uptick in intakes. While it’s often assumed that many pets adopted during the holidays are returned, some shelters report low return rates during this period, suggesting that thoughtful adoption can lead to lasting placements. The shelter is asking for short-term fosters and community involvement to help large dogs that are less likely to be snapped up quickly than smaller or younger animals.

Volunteers and staff are directing potential adopters and fosters to the shelter’s regular intake and adoption processes while emphasizing compatibility checks for families considering a new pet. The agency’s appeal for help reflects a broader pattern of increased demand in winter months and a consistent need for community support to place animals with appropriate homes.

Animal Care and Control’s holiday programs combine fee waivers and promotion of temporary fostering to move animals out of the shelter environment and into homes where they can be evaluated for long-term placement. The agency said these steps are intended to reduce time in the shelter and improve outcomes for larger dogs that often face longer waits.

Community members interested in fostering or adopting are encouraged to contact Animal Care and Control directly for details about eligibility and the application process.

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Original reporting: view the original article.