By Jennifer Slusser
This holiday season is one of the busiest times for animal shelters.
'It''s not like rush hour at the mall on Christmas Eve, but it is the time when we have the most animals adopted,' said Utah County Sheriff''s Lt. Grant Ferre, shelter director.
Ferre said the animal shelter wants people to adopt pets for Christmas, but wants the adopters to know what they are getting into.
To encourage families to come meet pets, the Utah County Animal Shelter is hosting a pet adopt-a-thon from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 17, at the animal shelter, 650 W. 3000 North in Spanish Fork.
Ferre gave some tips to people thinking about adopting a pet.
'Everyone involved in the pet''s care should participate in the adoption process,' Ferre said. 'Take plenty of time to decide on the pet. Sleep on it, if you must. This is a big decision for both the pet and the family.'
Newlywed, Alyse Tait, is contemplating buying her husband a puppy for Christmas.
'I would love to give my husband a puppy on Christmas,' Tait said. 'If I do decide to get my husband a puppy, I''d tie a big red bow around its neck, but I''m not sure if he would want one.'
Ferre encourages people looking for pets to adopt them from an animal shelter.
'We have lots of loving animals at the shelter,' Ferre said. 'Christmas is a time of year when people think about their families and try to do what they can to make them happy. Pets can make many of these people happy.'