Program works to combat the cycle of post-holiday pet returns

After the holiday season ends, humane societies are often flooded with pet returns.

The Carver Scott Humane Society has a program called FurKeeps, giving new owners extra help to keep pets in their homes.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Anna Kirsling, with the Carver Scott Humane Society, said. “I mean, they just want a home and they just want to be loved. They’re just like any of us. They all crave love and affection.”

Whether it’s a bag of food, vaccinations or microchips, the goal of the program is to help give owners some financial help so they can keep their pets with their families and out of the shelter system.

“We can’t obviously do it forever, but we have a certain amount in our budget that we can allocate every year for this program and it is first come, first served, we do the very best we can,” Kirsling said.

FurKeeps has been around for a few years now and Carver Scott Humane Society says the program has had a lot of success.