Hosting Thanksgiving This Year? Why Not Host a Furry Houseguest, Too?

As people all over the country plan their Thanksgiving festivities, they might want to leave room for one more guest!  

This Thanksgiving, adoptable pets at Best Friends Animal Society locations across the country will be ready and waiting for a seat at the table (or on the floor, or the couch...). Best Friends, a leading national animal welfare organization working to end the killing of dogs and cats in America's shelters and taking the entire country no-kill*, is inviting people to welcome a pet into their home with two-night foster sleepovers – because pets belong in loving homes, not shelters. 

Here’s how it works: on Wednesday, November 26, people are invited to visit Best Friends locations in Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Northwest Arkansas, and Salt Lake City to kick off their Thanksgiving foster sleepover. There, they will be matched with a pet that’s a good fit for their family and Thanksgiving plans. Fosters will then head home with their holiday guest and everything needed for a successful sleepover – food, treats, toys, leashes, crates – at no cost.  

On Friday, November 28, fosters will return their sleepover guests to Best Friends so they can meet potential adopters. For those who aren’t quite ready for their furry houseguest to leave – or even want to make them a part of the family – they can continue fostering the pet or choose to adopt! 

Fostering is an essential part of pet lifesaving and is a great way to give back during the holidays. Fosters give homeless dogs and cats a safe, secure place to decompress outside of a shelter environment while they wait for a loving home. Plus, fosters provide shelter and rescue group staff with important information about adoptable pets, which can help match them with a great family. The best part? Fostering comes at no cost, as shelters and rescue groups typically provide everything the pet needs. 

For people considering giving a homeless pet a place to crash for the holidays – or for those with their own pets – Best Friends has a few tips to keep Thanksgiving safe and fun for everyone involved.  

“While those puppy dog eyes can be hard to resist, it’s important to fight the urge to feed pets table scraps or toss them a bone,” says Dr. Erin Katribe, Veterinarian and Director of National Veterinary Programs, Best Friends Animal Society. “Too many rich, fatty, or simply new foods can cause an upset stomach or even pancreatitis, which can be life-threatening. Plus, turkey and other poultry bones can break up or splinter in a pet’s stomach. Instead, stick to pet-safe treats. There are lots of great, seasonal options available in stores, or you can have fun making your own with pet-safe ingredients like pumpkin, applesauce, and cinnamon.”  

For more pet safety tips and to learn how to bring a new best friend home for the Thanksgiving holiday, please visit bestfriends.org.   

*No-kill is defined by a 90% save rate for animals entering a shelter and is a meaningful and common-sense benchmark for measuring lifesaving progress. Typically, the number of pets who are suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being rehomed is not more than 10% of all dogs and cats entering shelters. For any community to be no-kill, all stakeholders in that community must work together to achieve and sustain that common goal while prioritizing community safety and good quality of life for pets as guiding no-kill principles. This means cooperation among animal shelters, animal rescue groups, government agencies, community members and other stakeholders, all committed to best practices and protocols.