Home2 Suites by Hilton Biloxi North/D’Iberville has hosted adoptable shelter dogs from the Humane Society of South Mississippi in Gulfport.
So far, 33 visitors have adopted one of the Home 2 Suites “Fostering Hope” dogs, who occupy a large kennel in the lobby.
“They have a lot of transient guests who stay for months at a time near our army and navy bases and that’s just enough time to fall in love with a dog,” explains Bianca Janik, the shelter’s relations manager.
Teresa Johnston, the hotel’s sales director was the mind behind this program. Once she researched the hotel, she decided it was an “ideal set-up” for a longterm foster program.
“Teresa thought they needed to set their hotel apart and this was it. She wanted to have the business more involved with the community. It was a very out-of-the-box way to find our animals’ new homes so we were on board,” Janik says. Guests who come to adopt a dog from the program fill out an application and pay the $50 adoption fee at the hotel.
“We have a very open adoption program,” Janik says. “People are trying to do the right thing by adopting. We reserve the right to deny. (We) may tell them we don’t feel comfortable, come visit our shelter tomorrow and we’ll find one that is right.”
In the rescue and shelter adoptions, each dog has been neutered or spayed, microchipped and is up to date on vaccinations and preventative heartworm medication.
Janik says: “Because there are live animals are in the mix, we have to be able to trust that their health and well-being are taken care of first and foremost.”
If there’s no reason to turn down an application, the dog can transfer right into their new owner’s hotel room, allowing the Humane Society to move a new dog into the kennel. This frees up space at the shelter, as it takes in about 8,000 dogs a year and adopts out close to 80% of them.
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