With cutbacks and downsizing, City of Sacramento shelters can’t offer the same services to its residents that it once could. Now, with dogs caged all day in an often stressful environment, a private company has stepped forward to help a few deserving dogs adjust to their future lives in a family and free environment.

The owner of Grateful Paws, a dog daycare and boarding facility, visits the shelter everyday and observes the dogs, hoping to find one with the need and disposition to escape the shelter for a few hours and play at his facility. There, the cage-less playing facility enables the shelter dog to interact freely with dogs from homes across the city.

It also offers valuable insight into the personality of the shelter dog, which can give its potential adopted family more information to make an informed decision. In other words, it increases the likelihood that the dog will be adopted and avoid the dangers of being euthanized.

Read the full story at the Sacramento Bee.