And I agree that animals don’t know the holidays from any other day of the year. But I think this program is really more about seeking to alleviate some of the burden on shelters, which tend to be overpopulated and understaffed during the holiday season as people get pets they decide they don’t want or can’t keep, and as shelter volunteers take breaks from volunteering.

I think it is also an effort to get more people involved in fostering. More and more people support no-kill shelters in theory. That is, they agree that they would rather see strays and unwanted animals sheltered and then adopted as opposed to euthanized.

But many people may not make the connection between “no-kill” and overpopulation in shelters. These animals need to be housed and cared for if they are not going to be euthanized, and no-kill shelters really do depend on fostering for a lot of the care the animals receive between the time they are turned over to the shelter and the time they are adopted (which, for some animals, may be years).

So, while this program encourages people to get involved in fostering on a temporary basis through the holidays, I do think one of the larger (if unstated) goals is to encourage some of these temporary first-time foster parents to consider fostering throughout the year.