A Shelter in Poland Asked People to Adopt Dogs As Temperature Drops, Gets Overwhelming Response

An animal shelter in Krakow, Poland cannot express with words how thankful they are after launching a temporary dog adoption project on Friday, January 05 and getting an overwhelming response.

The animal shelter, KTOZ Schronisko dla Bezdomnych Zwierząt w Krakowie (KTOZ Shelter For Homeless Animals in Krakow), announced ‘Operation Frost – Temporary Adoptions’ on January 05.

The project was launched by the shelter as an appeal for people to temporarily adopt dogs as temperature continues to plummet in Krakow.

The animal shelter wrote on Facebook saying, “Severe frosts are coming, the temperature is expected to drop even to minus 20 degrees.”

The animal shelter currently have over 300 dogs at the shelter, some of which live in kennels. They wrote, “Due to the fact that some of our animals live in kennels, we urgently need to make room for them in a closed pavilion.“

“We are asking for your urgent help. If you could take care of our dogs, at least during the freezing spell, we would be very grateful!” the animal shelter continued.

The project was meant to take place for the next few days, from 10 AM to 5 PM, and potential adopters didn’t need an appointment with the shelter, they can just walk in the shelter and temporarily adopt a dog that a staff will choose for them.

But the shelter didn’t expect people to line up starting on the early morning of January 06 to temporarily adopt dogs.

The animal shelter posted photos and a video of people at the shelter, ready to participate in their project and temporarily adopt dogs.

“We don’t know if any words can express what we feel right now,” the animal shelter wrote. “Did it exceed any of our expectations? Definitely yes.”

Since opening on January 06, 22 dogs have already left the shelters to go to their temporary homes.

And by January 07, the shelter had to suspend the project because a total of 177 dogs were already adopted to temporary homes.

The shelter was able to successfully make space for all the dogs that were in kennels. And the dogs have been moved inside, where it was safe and warm.

The shelter continued to thank people for their kindness saying, “THANK YOU is not enough. You changed the fate of our animals. Even if adoption is supposed to last through the hardest freezing conditions, knowing that during this difficult time they were being well cared for brings tears to our eyes.”

Due to the project’s success, KTOZ Shelter also had to cancel their Open Day for Saturday, January 13, because all the dogs that people can take for a walk have been spending their days with their temporary families.

The shelter encouraged others who weren’t able to temporarily adopt from them to help other shelters. They said, “We encourage you to help in other shelters, where there are dogs for whom the frost will be very harsh with.”

The shelter still has 177 dogs and more than 280 cats in need of adoption, this time, permanently. So, they are encouraging people to come to the shelter to meet the other animals and adopt.