It’s a Hard Time of Year for Animal Shelters—Here's How They Find Holiday Joy

This season is a time of giving, gathering with loved ones, dressing ourselves and our pets up in matching onesies — it’s all very worthy of the heart-eye emoji. But for many tapped into the animal welfare world, this season also conjures up images of pets staring forlornly as Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” plays in the background. Luckily, the countless volunteers and employees who work in animal rescue have many ways to fight the challenges that arise during the holiday season.

Some more context: At the end of the year, foster numbers shrink dramatically. People are traveling to visit family and friends, working extra hours to pay for gifts, or just booked up with a million holiday parties, so availability is scarce. As a result, rescues can’t take in as many pets as usual, and many animals already in the care of a shelter must be shuffled around. Plus, the freezing weather is dangerous for unhoused pets who need shelter ASAP.

We spoke with six animal shelters and rescues across the country about the difficulties they face this time of year and how their holiday traditions keep spirits up among volunteers, staff members, and animals alike. They also dispel some common concerns about giving pets as gifts and share a few creative ways you can help if you’re short on time and money right now. (Laundry duty, anyone?). 

Piedmont Animal Rescue — Mooresville, North Carolina

Piedmont Animal Rescue (PAR) will be celebrating nine years in January of 2026. Fundraising Manager Donald Gullett praises their team’s ability to “maintain a tight-knit group” and jokes that even the dog volunteers and the cat volunteers get along with each other.

PAR typically takes on whatever types of animals they can accommodate — meaning their fosters may be housing anything from small mammals and reptiles to horses. Their operation has fewer short-term fosters during the holiday season, Gullett says. This month, the volunteers are celebrating their work by hosting several adoption events. They’ll also be bringing their miniature rescue ponies along to the 6th Annual Tree Festival at Chickadee Hill Farms, where participants can partake in carnival games, food vendors, and an idyllic lighted walking path; a portion of the proceeds will go to PAR.

Second Chance — Columbia, Missouri

Columbia Second Chance, Mid-Missouri’s largest animal rescue organization, is led by Executive Director Giulia Hall, who tells Kinship that compassion fatigue is “huge in the rescue and vet industry.” She adds that it’s difficult when “you’re supposed to be in the holiday spirit, but you’re still dealing with homeless animals and terrible situations.” 

Compassion fatigue is, indeed, a huge problem for veterinarians — one startling study found that female vets are 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide than people in other professions. The more animal welfare organizations can do to ensure pets are placed in good homes and properly cared for, the more pressure we can take off our community’s vets (who, by the way, Hall says would love a vegetable tray instead of the usual cookies or candy). 

To help maintain a positive mindset during the challenging season, Second Chance hosts an annual “Misfits and Mistletoe” event, which features some of the animals who need the most help — whether behaviorally or medically — with their care at the time. “People really like it,” Hall says. “We do it by invitation only, and we make a big effort to make it stress-free for the dogs and cats so they get seen in the best possible light.”

Carolina Boxer Rescue — Hampstead, North Carolina

Carolina Boxer Rescue (CBR) was started over 20 years ago to serve North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia. The rescue is 100 percent volunteer-based, and it’s now over 500 people strong. Constantly pursuing their motto, “No nub left behind,” the organization offers some specialized services, such as hospice care for senior dogs and behavioral training courses for foster parents. 

“The holiday season is an especially difficult time for rescues and shelters alike,” says Andrea Williams, director of fundraising and events for the organization. “For shelters, they tend to see more dogs being surrendered. For our rescue that is 100 percent foster-based, we often see a decline in foster homes…We have a tough time with transports this time of year as well, since so many people are traveling or just unavailable.” 

Luckily, this year CBR is able to find some joy in their holiday events, like “Santa Paws” (which will be complete with a holiday pet market and ugly sweater contest) on December 5 and “Meet Santa and the Grinch” on December 6.

Saving Grace Pet Adoption Center — Roseburg, Oregon

Megan Gram, executive director and certified animal wellness administrator at Saving Grace, says their organization has faced big challenges in recent years. The organization is 95 percent volunteer-run and has found homes for over 50,000 dogs since its founding in 2004.

See their website f or ways you can help them this year, including their “Happy Howlidays” shopping party on December 13, where you can meet dogs and shop at Saving Grace Supply Co.

MSPCA, Boston — Massachusetts Adoption Center

The second oldest Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in the country, Massachusetts SPCA (MSPCA-Angell) has been open since 1868. Operations Coordinator Corinne Bourgoin works at the organization’s Boston Adoption Center, but they have many other facilities across the state. In addition to their adoption centers, the MSPCA runs two private veterinary hospitals and two locations in vocational high schools, where, with the help of students who want to go into the veterinary field, the rescue holds low-cost community clinics.

Bourgoin speaks to the stigma around giving pets as gifts, which is an added challenge for rescues every December. “Historically, animal welfare said, ‘Don’t give pets as gifts,’ but [in 2013] the ASPCA did a study that showed pets given as gifts aren’t loved any less, nor do they stay with the family any less,” she says. 

On December 10, MSPCA will host their “Snow Place Like Home” adoption event, where all dogs over one year old will have their adoption fee waived.

Helping Hands Humane Society — Topeka, Kansas

Grace Clinton, former director of philanthropy at Helping Hands Humane Society (an organization that has been serving its community as early as the 1800s — seriously), says their shelter actually sees fewer challenges during the holidays than some other rescues and shelters report. “Honestly, we love the winter/holiday season… Kitten season slows down, people aren’t out and about as much, so dogs aren’t getting loose.” 

Luckily, they do take time to celebrate the years’ worth of hard work. “Every year, our board hosts a Christmas party where we open late to the public and have a nice lunch together,” Clinton says. “We’ve also done a variety of adoption specials, such as ‘Winter Freeze Adoption Fees,’ ‘Black Furday,’ and ‘Yappy Yowlidays’ to try and encourage people to still adopt if the time is right for their family.” 

This year, they’re hosting “Santa Paws,” where dogs can get photos with Santa and their pet parents can explore vendors, crafts, and a bake sale.

How you can help

Every rescue Kinship spoke to says fosters and volunteers are always needed, especially during the holidays. But if you simply don’t have the time to squeeze in one more activity, there are a few ways you can still help: 

• Collect pet food or supplies, such as linens and toys .

• Make a financial donation.

• Spread the word about low-cost services that may help community members keep their pets instead of surrendering them.

• Offer to bring the organization’s laundry to your home and do it for them.

• Be extra kind to animal care workers who are facing more challenges than usual this time of year.