A new furry friend may be on your Christmas list this year but before you bring your pet home there are a few things you should consider. Our Venise Toussaint has some pet tips and the scoop about a new pet delivery program for the holidays.

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MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. -- Santa is putting volunteers at the Pets Alive shelter to work this year, they say they got a call from old saint Nic himself-asking them to be his helpers.

“Santa has contacted us and wants us to deliver pets for him on Christmas morning instead of having them sit under the box under the tree all night," said Pets Alive Shelter Administrator, Karen Lieberman.

There are about 200 cats and dogs ready for adoption at the Pets Alive Shelter. This year they’ve launched a brand new program called Santa’s Helpers to get these pets into brand new homes. Shelter staff will be dressed up as elves arriving at homes all across the county on Christmas day-they say pets make great gifts but families should make sure they are fully prepared to care for them before gifting or adopting.

"We do like to have the whole family come down when they adopt a pet so that we know that everybody is on board and if they’re adopting a dog and they already have a dog bring the dog down too so they can meet on neutral territory we want to do everything we can to make sure the process is smooth," Lieberman said.

Richard Molina and his family are touring the shelter. They have two pit bulls and a poodle at home and they’re looking to add a fourth dog their family.

"We were interested in adopting one of the smaller dogs”, Molina said.

Molina says caring for his furry friends is not an easy task.

"It’s a lot of responsibility from walking them feeding them.”

"It is something to think about before you get into but it’s something you’ll never regret doing", Lieberman added.

Shelter organizers said volunteering at the shelter or fostering a pet before adopting is a great way to get a feel for ownership. Only pets adopted in the week before Christmas will be delivered.