APPLETON, Wis. (WFRV) – While many of us have been cooped up inside this year, those who don’t already have pets could be longing for a four-legged companion.

If you are thinking about adopting a pet for the holidays, you may want to consider a few things first.

Khrysta Jaeger, founder of Woof Lodge and Rescue, recommends fostering a pet for the holidays.

“A lot of families are very impulsive during the holidays. There’s so much stuff that a new pet can get into during the holidays. You have presents under the tree, the strings from wrapping paper and bows it can get wrapped around their intestines if they eat them. You think it’s a really good time to get a pet, and then when you go back to work you realize you don’t have time for the pet or the kids aren’t going to take care of it like you thought they were going to,” says Jaeger.

The animal rescue, which has been open since 2016, volunteers in Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and Alabama.

“Our passion at Woof Lodge is really the volunteering aspect. We love to go down there and give back to the communities that we get the dogs from. We bring down food and treats and we help with vetting on the streets,” says Jaeger.

Kim Peterson, a lead volunteer at Woof Lodge and Rescue, is fostering three pets, two of which are hospice fosters providing loving homes for pets with terminal illnesses.

“I would see the multiple dogs in all the kennels and the next day they wouldn’t be there and that would haunt me. That stuck with me when I came back home, and I wanted to make a difference,” says Peterson.

Adopting a pet is a large responsibility that affects everyone in the household. Jaeger suggests waiting a few months after the busy holiday season dies down and you’ve returned to your normal routine to consider adoption.

“We always go for more of the foster approach, and if you find that it’s a good fit then adopt after the holidays,” says Jaeger.

Woof Lodge and Rescue is 100 percent foster-based, meaning they do not operate out of a facility.

For more information on Woof Lodge and Rescue animal rescue, click here.