A dog is for life, not just for Christmas.

However, one Cork charity is hoping local animal lovers will consider opening their homes to a small furry house guest over the holidays.

As Christmas week looms, Dog Action Welfare Group are at capacity with abandoned, abused and neglected dogs. Almost 100 homeless animals are currently in the organisation’s care at Pauine’s Rescue in Charleville and adoptions have slowed considerably in recent weeks.

While DAWG does not allow puppies to be re-homed at Christmas time, they are in desperate need of people who will look after them temporarily to take the pressure off the charity’s services.

‘The situation is dire and even private kennels are impossible to come by as they are either full for Christmas or closed for the holiday season.” DAWG’s Claudia Cashman told YayCork.

“We are appealing to Cork animal lovers to consider fostering a dog or puppy until a suitable forever home can be found.”

If you’re new to the concept; fostering is fun, rewarding and educational. Plus, it comes with free snuggles and unlimited tail wags.

It’s perfect for dog lovers who are not yet ready to commit to a dog for life or anyone whose future plans don’t allow for a “forever” dog just yet – and let’s face it, a foster dog, however energetic, is likely to be better behaved than your visiting relatives.

Fosterers are made up of all kinds of people: single, couples, and families with children; students, retired people, parents at home and people in part-time work. DAWG’s volunteers work hard to make sure each dog placed in a foster home is a suitable match; some fosterers specialise in puppies, in bull breeds, in large or senior dogs.

Even if you can’t provide full-time fostering, you may be open to looking after a dog short term in an emergency or while its regular fosterer is on holidays. The only requirements are that someone is home for most of the day, you have an enclosed garden and a little bed indoors and you enjoy walking and can give your little lodger enough exercise.

In return, DAWG can offer you cover for all food and veterinary costs, peer-to-peer support from your fellow fosterers and, most importantly, the satisfaction of knowing you played a vital role helping a dog on its journey to a forever home.

If you’d like to foster a dog this winter, check out the DAWG site for further details or visit their Facebook page.