Humane Society Naples launches dog sleepover program

It’s the season of giving, but animal shelters want you to think twice before gifting someone a four-legged friend this Christmas.

“We get a lot of returns after Christmas and get a lot of returns in general because people don’t necessarily think through the lifelong commitment,” said Jaime Whiting, the Humane Society Naples foster coordinator.

Whiting said oftentimes, the person who receives an animal as a gift is not fully prepared for the responsibility or for unexpected behaviors that may appear since an animal will act differently in an environment that is different from the shelter they are adopted from.

Bandito is back at Humane Society Naples after his latest “Sleepover.”

“‘Sleepovers’ are really new to us,” Whiting said. “We started with field trips out of the shelter for an hour or two. We decided to extend it to something a little longer.”

To help people pick the right animal for their family, or to help anyone get their “dog fix,” the Humane Society Naples is launching their “Sleepover” program to the public Monday.

“They sign up online and they fill out a questionnaire so we can try to match their right dog with the right home,” said Whiting. “They take them home for two nights and they come back and we collect good information and you can do it all over again.”

She hopes more people will consider taking a dog out of the shelter for a few hours or a few nights.

“We’d love to get some of our dogs out, particularly around the holiday season,” she said. A season when she says many animals given as gifts are brought back.

“I think the best thing to do is either make up some sort of gift certificate or they can come here after Christmas and pick a pet on their own. That way you know they’re definitely on board with it and what they’re looking for,” Whiting said.

To sign up for a Sleepover, click here. If you have any questions, you can send an email to sleepover@hsnaples.org or give them a call at 239-643-1555.

For more information on Humane Society Naples, click here.