Travelling solo can get pretty lonely at times – especially when you’re in your hotel room at the end of the day. It would be nice to have someone keep you company.
But now there is one hotel down in Mississippi who is letting their guests “foster” dogs throughout their stay.
The Home 2 Suites in Biloxi, Mississippi has teamed up with the Humane Society of South Mississippi for its “Fostering Hope” program. The hotel – who typically allows extended-stays for travelers – has dog kennels in the lobby for a selection of four-legged friends for guests.
The program just isn’t about guests being able to enjoy dogs while they stay at the hotel. There is a much bigger aim, which is to find these dogs forever homes. If the guest should decide they’d like to adopt a dog, they can fill out an application and pay a $50 fee to the hotel concierge. And if the guests adopt the dog while they are still staying at the hotel, the dog is welcomed to stay in their new owner’s hotel room.
But just because the hotel lets you adopt on the spot, doesn’t mean they will – the hotel does hold the right to refuse an adoption if they see fit.
Bianca Janik, the relations manager for the shelter, said to USA Today, “(We) may tell them we don’t feel comfortable, come visit our shelter tomorrow and we’ll find one that is right.”
Now as for how they decide which dogs will be best for housing at the Home 2 Suites, the shelter tends to select dogs who are calm, less reactive, and more suited for life in a busy hotel.
Chauvo, our very first adoption baby stopped by the Home2 Suites for a visit to say hello. This little guy has experienced a loving home since October 2018. Thanks Kinsley and family.
Posted by Home2 Suites by Hilton Biloxi North/D'Iberville, MS on Monday, December 9, 2019
And the program has been successful, since the hotel has a picture on their Facebook of Chauvo, the very first “adoption baby” who was adopted out to his forever home back in October 2018.
Like all of the adopted dogs that have followed since, Chauvo went to his new home with up-to-date vaccinations, microchip, updated medical evaluations and procedures – including spay/neutering, and preventative heartworm medication.
Since setting up “Fostering Hope” back in October 2018, Homes 2 Suites has paired 33 guests with adopted dogs.
“[The hotel has] 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. It was a very out-of-the-box way to find our animals new homes so we were on board,” Janik said.
Another adopted dog, Spot, also known as Fergus, went back in November to visit the hotel.
Guess who came to visit us today, Spot aka Fergus. This sweet little Dachshund mix was adopted back in January by Laura…
Posted by Home2 Suites by Hilton Biloxi North/D'Iberville, MS on Friday, November 1, 2019
As the hotel wrote on their Facebook page, “This sweet little Dachshund mix was adopted back in January by Laura and Greg from Tennessee. Fergus is happy, healthy and very loved. Thanks for bringing back a sweet memory for our team.”
Who else thinks that more hotels should be partnering with shelters across the country?
