The Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter is asking families to make room for one more in their holiday plans with its holiday foster program.

WCRAS hopes residents will accommodate its more than 350 dogs and cats from Dec. 22–Jan. 2. The fostering gives the animals and shelter staff a break.

"It is good for the animals to have a break from shelter life and spend time socializing with people, and it is good for the staff who still have to come in, clean up and feed the animals that are here even on Christmas day," said Cheryl Schneider, Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter director. "The fewer animals we have, the less time staff members spend away from their families. It is also a great opportunity for families to have a trial run who are on the fence about having a dog or cat as a companion animal."

Applications to foster an animal must be filled out and turned into the shelter by Dec. 17. The shelter will match each applicant with a pet, and all animals must be picked up before 4 p.m. on Dec. 24.

The shelter is also promoting a 12 Reasons to Adopt for $12 campaign as part of a national Iams Home 4 the Holidays pet adoption drive. All adoptions through Feb. 2 are $12, and adopters can register for Iams Lifelong Rewards with their animal.

"With as many as 7 million homeless pets in the U.S., it is important everyone get involved to help save an orphaned animal this holiday season," Schneider said. "We're proud to be a part of this amazing campaign and are dedicated to placing orphaned animals in homes so they can experience a happy life with their new, loving family."

The shelter is located at 1855 S.E. Inner Loop in Georgetown, and is open Mon.–Fri. from noon–6 p.m. and Sat.–Sun. noon–5 p.m. For more information, call 512-943-3322 or visit https://pets.wilco.org.