Burlington Animal Services, located on Stone Quarry Road, is hosting a February adoption event centered around Valentine’s Day from Feb. 4 to 25. Any dog or cat can be adopted for $14.
Laura Michel, marketing and communication specialist for the shelter, said the facility, which houses several dogs and cats, hosts monthly adoption events which see a lot of foot traffic.
“These specials are always successful — they bring a lot of people in,” Michel said. “All the animals need adoption.”
Michel said one dog, Lillian, a boxer, has been at the shelter for nearly four months, around the same time as many of the other dogs that haven’t been adopted yet.
To combat animals being at the shelter for longer periods of time, Burlington Animal Services staff host adoption events and post on social media platforms to promote adoption.
“I’m not sure what the issue is with adoption,” Michel said. “It’s the matter of the right person coming along, and it has to be the perfect fit.”
Some Elon University students, like freshman Mattie Dreyer, have participated in Dog Day Out, a program the shelter offers that allows community members to adopt a dog for a day. Students can give the dogs a break from the shelter by bringing them for walks or play fetch, which can be beneficial to both parties.
“I have two dogs and a cat at home and I miss them so much here, so it sounded like a fun idea,” Dreyer said. “I liked that we got to choose the dog that we wanted on the website and got to keep him for the majority of the day.”
Dreyer said the experience was different than anything she’s ever participated in because she didn’t know there were programs where shelter dogs could be taken out by members of the community.
For more information on future adoption events, the Dog Day Out program and animals available for adoption, click here.