HIGHLANDS, NC (WLOS) – One senior dog found his forever home with a guest visiting a North Carolina hotel that fosters shelter dogs in an effort to get them adopted.
The Park on Main in Highlands is not only a dog-friendly hotel, but it has also fostered dogs from the Cashiers-Highlands Humane Society since 2015. The dogs get a chance to live in the lap of luxury while also getting exposure to multiple guests , each one a possible adoptee.
“The hotel is dog-friendly. It’s dog-forward, I would say,” said Devon Allio, the hotel’s general manager.
Calhoun, an 8-year-old hound mix rescued by the shelter as a stray last July, was the newest dog in residence when Sydney Haykel visited from Nashville, Tennessee.
“The guest took Calhoun to her room, took him on a walk,” Allio said.
Though Haykel went home without Calhoun, she couldn’t get him out of her mind. A reminder to her and her boyfriend of a previous dog they lost not long ago, the couple decided they had to adopt him.
“Calhoun just kind of spoke to her,” said Jodi Henkel, an assistant at the animal shelter.
Haykel made the necessary arrangements with shelter staff to bring Calhoun to her. Plans were made for the hand-off Wednesday at a halfway point in Tennessee.
Haykel was overjoyed to see Calhoun again.
“We just fell in love with him and were happy to take him home,” she said.
She has another dog named Goober and said she was looking forward to having the two meet each other, as well as buying Calhoun a Starbucks pup cup to celebrate.
For Allio, seeing Calhoun get adopted produced a combination of emotions.
“We’re sorry to see him go. “It’s a sad day for us, but we’re also very happy he found his forever home,” he said.
Animal shelter staff says the hotel’s decision to foster dogs has led to 25 to 30 adoptions over the years.
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