{"id":161958,"date":"2026-02-12T18:54:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T18:54:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/161958\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T18:54:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T18:54:22","slug":"dallas-animal-services-invites-north-texans-to-spend-valentines-day-with-shelter-dogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/161958\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas Animal Services invites North Texans to spend Valentine\u2019s Day with shelter dogs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Instead of flowers or chocolates, Dallas Animal<\/a> Services is asking residents to consider a different kind of valentine this year \u2014 a shelter dog in need of a little love.<\/p>\n

As part of a Valentine\u2019s Day weekend push, DAS is inviting the community to participate in special programs designed to get adoptable dogs out of kennels and into homes, parks and, ideally, permanent families.<\/p>\n

The city shelter will host a Valentine\u2019s Date Night adoption event Saturday, Feb. 14, with extended hours until 8 p.m., giving would-be adopters more time to meet available pets in a festive setting.<\/p>\n

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In addition to on-site adoptions, DAS is promoting two popular short-term foster opportunities: Valentine\u2019s staycations and Valentine doggie daycations.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of traditional Valentine\u2019s gifts, we\u2019re inviting the community to treat a shelter dog to some quality time outside \u2014 or inside \u2014 the shelter,\u201d Assistant Director Amanda Earl said in a news release. \u201cThese programs help our dogs decompress, let their personalities shine, and often lead to successful adoptions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Valentine\u2019s staycations<\/p>\n

For residents looking for a longer dose of puppy companionship, staycations allow participants to bring a dog home for the holiday weekend.<\/p>\n

Pickup is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 13, between 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Dogs can be returned Feb. 15 or 16, with staff coordinating drop-off times.<\/p>\n

Participants interested in fostering beyond the weekend can work with the shelter to extend their stay.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese weekend stays can make a tremendous difference for our dogs,\u201d Earl said. \u201cA quiet home, a soft bed and a little love go a long way.\u201d<\/p>\n

DAS says it can provide supplies, guidance and other fostering resources if needed.<\/p>\n

Valentine doggie daycations<\/p>\n

For those unable to commit to a full weekend, doggie daycations offer a few hours of adventure. Participants can take a dog out for sunshine, walks or outings, then return them to the shelter the same day.<\/p>\n

Volunteers are encouraged to take photos and videos and complete a short report card afterward to help showcase each dog\u2019s personality to potential adopters.<\/p>\n

The news release shared that a recent study conducted by The Hockaday School found that more than 90% of dogs who participated in DAS daycations achieved positive outcomes, including adoption, fostering, rescue placement or reunification with previous owners.<\/p>\n

How to participate<\/p>\n

Participants must be 18 or older.<\/p>\n

Pickup times are available Saturday, Feb. 14, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 to 2 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 15, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Residents can visit BeDallas90.org\/doggie-daycations to sign up for a daycation or email DASfoster@dallas.gov for questions about staycations. <\/p>\n

Volunteer inquiries can be directed to DASvolunteer@dallas.gov.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Instead of flowers or chocolates, Dallas Animal Services is asking residents to consider a different kind of valentine…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":161959,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[244,102,581,104,103,1972,223,27,51770],"class_list":{"0":"post-161958","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-animals","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dallas-county","11":"tag-dallas-headlines","12":"tag-dallas-news","13":"tag-holidays","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-texas","16":"tag-valentines-day"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161958\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}