A local veterinarian is making Christmas a little merrier for families adopting a new pet from any one of five animal shelters, including Bella Vista.
Dr. Wayne Wolfenkoehler, the founding veterinarian at All Pets Animal Hospital, started the program on a smaller scale last year. This year, shelters in Rogers, Centerton, Springdale and the county's Humane Society are included.
"We hope the gift we're providing will be the incentive more people need to go ahead and bring a pet into their home in time for Christmas," Wolfenkoehler said.
During the "Bring them Home for Christmas" promotion, each animal adopted comes with a free examination with tests for heartworm or feline leukemia, tests for worms and deworming if needed, vaccinations, a bag of Science Diet pet food, six month's worth of heartworm prevention and a dose of flea and tick prevention.
Dr. Wolfenkoehler said he was moved to take action to assist shelter pet adoptions after he adopted a puppy being fostered from an area shelter. Shortly afterward, photos of the puppy's mother and siblings appeared on the shelter website.
"There were litter-mates of my own dog who needed homes. But there were so many other potentially great family pets who also needed a chance. We wanted to do what we could to encourage the adoption of shelter pets."
Diane Yager of All Pets said they have a notebook full of shelter dogs in the vet office to encourage their customers to consider adopting. The book needs updating often because some of the dogs pictured get adopted.
Laurie May, manager of the Bella Vista Shelter said, bringing a pet home at Christmas can be a challenge because of the commotion in the house. A new pet will need some extra attention to adjust during the holiday season.
She won't allow a pet to leave the shelter as a gift, she said. But if someone wants to pay the adoption fee and bring the new owner along to chose a pet, she's onboard.
"We encourage the actual owner to come and visit and make sure that's what she wants," May said.
The promotion offered by All Pets is worth about $200, she said.
General News on 12/04/2019