A (temporary) home for the holidays

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) - Misty Valenta loves checking on some of her little clients. Little pooches that have found their way the Williamson County animal shelter as runaways, strays or dropped by owners going through hard times.

"This is a hard economic time for them," said Valenta.  "And people have to make that hard decision to surrender their animals. We are their resource and we are there to find these animals homes."

But as much as Valenta loves her job, she and other employees could use some time off this December.  Unfortunately,  that's often difficult with more than 300 animals needing daily care.

Shelter director Cheryl Schneider says that's why they're looking for temporary foster parents that can take a dog or a cat home for a few days.

How to help

• . If you would like to be a foster parent or adopt a pet, contact the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter at 512-943-3322 or visit the website .

"We're open seven days a week," said Schneider. "We have to feed and clean whether it's a holiday or not. Dogs deserve to get walked and taken care of on those days."

She added that the staff could use the time off to recharge their batteries so they can come back ready to take on their challenging job.

"It's stressful when we have so many animals to care for," said Schneider. "And we're so frantic every day  to find a place for these animals to go."

A place these pets can call home, if only for a few days.

Meanwhile, the shelter is also looking for permanent homes. It has reduced  adoption fees to only $12 for the holidays.