Santa Barbara County animal shelter dogs participate in Santa’s Slumber Party

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - Many dogs in Santa Barbara County animal shelters got to go home for the holidays thanks to participants in the annual Santa's Slumber Party Program this past week.

During the program, residents were able to temporarily foster a dog in their home over the holidays from Dec. 21 to Dec. 26.

Participating shelters were located in Santa Barbara, Lompoc and Santa Maria.

All volunteers were given a package of the necessary supplies needed to make their four-legged guests feel at home.

The shelter said the program works to match volunteers with dogs of the appropriate size and temperament for their families and living situations.

"We bring in about 7,000 animals a year. Right now at the shelters we probably have about 100 dogs plus and we're trying to find homes for all those dogs so we can have the ability to take in more dogs from the county," said Esteban Rodriguez, Operations Manager for Santa Barbara Animal Services.

This Slumber Party Program is hosted in order to get the dogs out of the shelter, give them some exposure, teach the shelter more about their personalities and introduce them to potential adopters.

All fosters hosts were given the option to adopt the dog at the end of their slumber party and received special discounts.

"Rescued are the best. They're very loyal and if we could put a dog in a home and have it and save a life, that's the best," said dog adopter Angelina Bloxham.