DESOTO PARISH, La. [December 17, 2025]—A loving home tops the wish lists of pets at Desoto Parish Animal Shelter this holiday season. To help make that wish come true, Desoto Parish Animal Services has launched Operation Silent Night, a foster initiative aimed at placing 20 of the shelter’s adoptable pets into temporary two-week foster homes.
On December 22 and 23rd, community members are invited to complete a brief foster form and visit the shelter from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. to be matched with a cat or dog to foster through December 29th or longer. Supplies can be provided as needed. All pets are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped.
“Desoto Parish Animal Shelter is full of incredible pets who would love nothing more than a break from the shelter and the comfort of a home this holiday season,” said Barbie Higginbotham, Director, Desoto Parish Animal Services. “Operation Silent Night gives our community an easy way to temporarily help a deserving pet while also creating space for the animals who arrive at our doors every day.”
The holiday season is also a time for giving, and with many pets still waiting for their second chance,—Best Friends Animal Society, a leading national animal welfare organization work to end this killing of cats and dogs in America’s shelters and take the country no-kill*, is encouraging the public to support Desoto Parish Animal Shelter by fostering and helping save lives.
“It’s exciting to be part of the lifesaving progress happening in Desoto Parish,” said Sophia Proler, South Central Regional Director, Best Friends Animal Society. “At Best Friends, we believe pets belong in homes—not shelters. This foster initiative gives the community a joyful opportunity to make a real, lifesaving difference this holiday season.”
A Operation Silent Night features a wide variety of cats and dogs of all sizes, ages, and personalities. Shelter staff will be available to provide information about each pet and help match fosters with an animal that fits their home and lifestyle.
To view pets available to temporarily foster (or adopt), visit Desoto Parish Animal Services adoption webpage. For additional information about fostering contact, asfrontdesk@desotoppj.com.
To learn more about Best Friends Animal Society, visit bestfriends.org.
* No-kill is defined by a 90% save rate for animals entering a shelter and is a meaningful and common-sense benchmark for measuring lifesaving progress. Typically, the number of pets who are suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being rehomed is not more than 10% of all dogs and cats entering shelters. For any community to be no-kill, all stakeholders in that community must work together to achieve and sustain that common goal while prioritizing community safety and good quality of life for pets as guiding no-kill principles. This means cooperation among animal shelters, animal rescue groups, government agencies, community members and other stakeholders, all committed to best practices and protocols.
About Best Friends Animal Society
Best Friends Animal Society is a leading animal welfare organization dedicated to saving the lives of dogs and cats in America’s shelters and making the entire country no-kill. Founded in 1984, Best Friends runs lifesaving facilities and programs nationwide in partnership with more than 5,500 shelters and rescue organizations. From our headquarters in Kanab, Utah, we also operate the nation’s largest no-kill animal sanctuary — a destination that brings our mission to life for thousands of visitors each year. We maintain the most comprehensive animal sheltering data in the country and make it accessible to the public — empowering communities with critical insights into the needs of their local shelters and how they can help. We believe every dog and cat deserves a home. And we believe that, by working together, we can Save Them All®.