The world has felt exceptionally upside down for a few years now. Who wouldn’t want to seize the opportunity to “forget about the worries of the world” for a while?
One Virginia animal shelter had an overwhelmingly positive response when they posted an enticing offer to their Facebook page. For one day only, applicants were invited to sign up for the shelter’s first-ever puppy snuggling sessions. Those chosen enjoyed 30 minutes in a room with some of the cutest puppy floofs you’ve ever seen. Nothing soothes the soul like getting smothered in puppy kisses!
“After two years of Covid, social upheaval and now a war, we think we could all use a little puppy cuddle time. So that’s just what we are offering! All day Sunday you can sign up for 30 minutes in a room at RACC to kiss these love buckets until your heart and soul is happy,” Richmond Animal Care and Control Director Christie Chipps-Peters posted on Facebook.
Richmond Animal Care and Control was likely expecting to soothe plenty of souls and spread plenty of smiles by offering such an adorable, heart-healing opportunity. But they probably weren’t prepared to have received 400 responses only six hours after making their early morning Facebook post.
Of course, their enticing offer attracted attention immediately after posting. They were offering the opportunity for private-room snuggle sessions with fluffy Pyrenees puppies!
“These sweet Angel cake puppies are magic, puffy fluffy goodness stuffed with rainbows and sunshine. If you hug them even for a few minutes, you will forget about the worries of the world,” wrote Christy.
When narrowing down the names on their long list of inquiries, RACC prioritized picking first responders and healthcare professionals. Then, they moved on to anyone who had recently lost a loved one or who was suffering from a broken heart, depression, or anxiety.
In the end, 52 lucky dog lovers were chosen from their initial 400 inquiries, filling up every available time slot.
The Facebook post emphasized that the rooms where participants would be puppy-snuggling were private, and that happy-giggle sessions, sobbing-on-the-floor sessions, and taking-a-ton-of-selfies-with-the-precious-pups sessions, were all welcome. By the end of the day, all seven puppies, plus their sweet mama, Calliope, had found loving homes.
RACC hopes to host several similar events in the future after receiving such a positive response from their local community. You can follow them on Facebook for updates to ensure you’re at the top of the list for the next round puppy snuggle sessions.
