Italian IKEA Opens Doors To Homeless Dogs In Winter

With the holiday season soon upon us, it’s only natural to start sharing those warm and fuzzy feel-good stories. What could be a better warm and fuzzy story than a mega-conglomerate chain location helping dogs in need?

An IKEA in Catania, Italy reportedly opened its doors to the homeless dogs of the area for the upcoming winter months. However, this isn’t the first time that IKEA stores have helped rehome stray and shelter dogs. IKEA assists Home for Hope, a collaborative effort charity organization, as well as other shelter groups. Together these organizations are trying to get dogs off the streets and into people’s homes and hearts.

IKEA Goes Viral

The story in Catania was originally reported by Vittoria Taccia Gabrielli, who posted videos and images from the store to her Facebook page showing the pets lounging on much of the display furniture. Naturally, the social media posts were met with a rousing number of positive responses, including likes and heart emoji reactions. In an interview with The Dodo, Taccia later reported that the store is doing much more than just giving these homeless pets shelter from the elements. Employees provide food, water, and toys, as well as much love and affection.

Even better news, many of the pups have found homes with the IKEA staff now, too.

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A post shared by Vale.Ant (@valeria_antipatico) on Aug 23, 2018 at 6:31am PDT

Other posts have shown up around Instagram further showcasing just how cozy these pups have been getting. Snoozing and sniffing about, these canines are really enjoying the opportunity to relax and get some pampering!

You Can Help, Too

While we can’t all open our homes or storefronts to dogs during the holidays–no matter how much we try to convince those we share those spaces with to do so–there’s plenty you can do to help homeless pets this holiday season. Donate and volunteer for your local animal shelter, and be sure to donate to no-kill shelters when possible. Running toy and food drives are also great ways to help.