It was a very happy holiday for dozens of pets from the Calgary Humane Society and their new families.

Jessica Bohrson, the humane society's spokesperson, said 62 pets were adopted in just four days last week — as the society was closed for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Bohrson said in a typical week in 2017, 50 animals were adopted per week and about 25 animals per week in 2018, so it was a big jump.

"We were just thrilled with the results, and we ended up getting a new home for a lot of birds, cats, dogs, rabbits and all kinds of critters," she said.

The following animals were adopted:

39 cats.

12 rabbits.

Five dogs.

Two hamsters.

Two birds.

Two guinea pigs.

Even though the adoptions happened over Christmas, Bohrson said the humane society does its due diligence to ensure the pets aren't being adopted as potentially unwanted surprise gifts.

"For us it's very important that every potential adopter has a good fit with that animal, and you can only have that by meeting the animal, you know, having some time to bond with them and seeing if this animal is right for you for the rest of its life and it is a long term commitment," she said.

Acorn, left, and Sheeba, right, were also among the animals adopted from the Calgary Humane Society last week. (Calgary Humane Society)

Instead, the humane society encourages people buy gift cards so recipients can come in and choose a pet for themselves.

It's been a busy year for the humane society — about 4,000 animals came in — Bohrson said, so there are always more pets that are looking for a new home.

"If anyone wants to come on down we've still got lots of little critters that would love to find a forever home," she said.