Lolly, a Papillon Chihuahua mix, went home recently with the Hultin family from Flat Rock, marking the 100th dog to find its forever home through the foster dog program at Aloft Asheville Downtown, a McKibbon Hospitality property.
“We couldn’t be more excited to be Lolly’s forever family,” said Karen Hultin. “Adopting her through Aloft Asheville and working with their foster dog partner, Charlie’s Angels Animal Rescue, has been a wonderful experience. Their program is an excellent model that helps save the lives of dogs in need and serves as a fun perk for travelers and locals visiting the hotel.”
Since its launch in 2014 at the dog-friendly Aloft Asheville Downtown, the foster dog program has been featured in national news outlets and served as a catalyst for similar programs launched in seven states across the country as well as one in Canada. Three other McKibbon properties, the Aloft Greenville Downtown, Aloft Orlando Downtown, and Aloft Tallahassee Downtown, have started similar programs. In total, more than 200 dogs have found forever homes through the four McKibbon Hospitality properties.
“As someone who has been involved in our foster dog program since the very beginning, it has been truly wonderful to watch so many dogs find their forever homes,” said David McCartney, general manager of the Aloft Asheville Downtown.
“In addition to making such a significant impact in Asheville, we are proud to have inspired other hotels across the country to do the same. We hope that more hotels will continue to adopt this model so that together as an industry, we can save the lives of more dogs in need.”
Through the program, Aloft Asheville Downtown partners with Charlie’s Angels Animal Rescue in Fletcher, North Carolina. The hotel houses one dog at a time that can be permanently adopted by hotel guests and locals. By taking dogs out of the traditional shelter and letting them stay at the hotel, guests can interact with the dogs in an intimate setting and get to know them before adopting.
According to Jerene Broadway of Asheville, who adopted Brigid, an Eskimo Spitz, in 2014, “Aloft Asheville’s foster dog program is remarkable. Being able to meet our dog in a setting outside of the traditional shelter and get to know her before the adoption made us confident we were a good match. We hope that other hotels across the country continue to add this wonderful model for dog adoptions.”