In November, the Broome County Humane Society rescued 60 dogs from a Binghamton home after their owner grew ill.
"Bringing in 60 dogs is quite a task for us. Our normal capacity is about 34, so based on what we had and what we brought in, we had 105 dogs under our care," said Karen Matson, Broome County Humane Society executive director.
"Had" is the key word.
Just days after hearing about the rescue, the community stepped up donating food items and adopting all the dogs. They had over 200 adoption applications.
"It's heartwarming to see people want to help out and give animals a happy healthy safe home," said Matson.
Vestal residents Steve and Joan Watrous took two dogs home Sunday.
"We'd take more if we could, but I think this enough for now," said Joan Watrous.
"It's great to watch them coming out of their shell. They play together and they're just adorable. It's great to have them," said Steve Watrous.
The Broome County Humane Society says support for the dogs has helped local residents understand what the organization does and how important it is to have community assistance.
"We've had more donations than we've had in a long time. Our food shelves are full. The constant flow of people here has been great because we also adopted dogs out that weren't little cute little white Maltes," said Matson.
Adopters are giving the best gift to those pets before the holidays: A home.