Asheville, NC (December 1, 2025) ─ Asheville Humane Society (AHS) is announcing a series of initiatives to find more animals homes, including a holiday adoption event and plans to expand its operating hours in the new year.
The efforts begin with a three-day adoption event from Friday, Dec. 5, through Sunday, Dec. 7, at the AHS Adoption Center, located at 14 Forever Friend Lane. The event is part of the BISSELL Pet Foundation’s nationwide “Empty the Shelters Holiday Hope” initiative. The center will extend its hours and be open on Sunday, Dec. 7, to provide more opportunities for adoptions.
“This year has placed enormous pressure on shelters across the country, as more families face financial hardship and housing changes that force them to surrender beloved pets,” said Cathy Bissell, founder of BISSELL Pet Foundation. “If you’re considering adding a pet to your family, adoption has so many benefits. Shelters have desirable pets of every size and age—many who have lived in homes, are house-trained, already spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and ready to become part of your family—all for a fraction of the cost of buying from a breeder or pet store. Our Empty the Shelters Holiday Hope event is a chance for all of us to end the year by giving shelter pets what they deserve most—a loving home.”
The event will feature dozens of animals available for adoption, along with unique opportunities for the public to get involved. AHS will also host adoptable animals from the ASPCA’s Behavioral Rehabilitation Center, Binx’s House of Black Cats, and Brother Wolf Animal Rescue.
New Year, New Hours
Starting January 4, the AHS Adoption Center will be open all seven days of the week, aligning adoption hours with the seven-day-a-week flow of animals into the Buncombe County Animal Shelter. Our hours of operation will remain 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and be noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays.
“In times like these, families need the unconditional love of a pet more than ever,” said Tracy Elliott, executive director of Asheville Humane Society. “We need animals and animals need us. It’s so important that we make it as easy as possible to make your family complete—with our new hours, we are excited lead the way as the only shelter in Buncombe County offering adoptions seven days a week.”
To prepare for the start of new hours, the AHS Adoption Center will refresh its adoptable dog kennels with a fresh coat of paint from Dec. 9 to Dec. 19. To ensure the dogs’ comfort and safety during this project, the shelter is launching a critical foster drive, seeking community members to provide temporary homes for its adoptable dogs throughout the ten-day renovation period.
Community members interested in becoming temporary foster heroes can learn more and apply at ashevillehumane.org/foster. AHS will provide all necessary supplies, food, and medical support for the foster period.
About Asheville Humane Society
Since 1984, Asheville Humane Society has dedicated itself to ensuring every animal has the quality of life they deserve—a life worth living. Now, we go beyond our walls to help create a more humane community for pets and the people who love them. We’re more than an animal shelter, we’re a lifeline. Through personalized adoptions, education opportunities, volunteering, fostering, emergency resources, and cutting-edge care innovations, we are working to go above and beyond an animal shelter. Our commitment to this mission is apparent in everything we do. Asheville Humane Society is a local, independent nonprofit not affiliated with the Humane Society of the United States.
