Approximately 110 furry creatures found homes last weekend, when animal lovers flocked to Maddie’s Pet Adoption Days at the Santa Clara County Animal Shelter in search of canine companions and feline friends.
The event, hosted locally Saturday and Sunday at the shelter on Murphy Avenue in San Martin, was made possible by Maddie’s Fund, an organization dedicated towards finding homes for sheltered cats and dogs and creating a no-kill nation. The promotion was a huge success, as more than 100 families took advantage of the deal and visited the animal shelter.
This is the first year the South County animal shelter participated in Maddie’s Pet Adoption Days, America’s largest free pet adoption event. For every animal the shelter adopted out during this weekend, Maddie’s Fund will award the shelter a grant of between $500 and $2,000 depending on the animal’s age and health condition.
The Perfect Dog Rescue and Town Cats of Morgan Hill also participated in Maddie’s Pet Adoption Days at the Morgan Hill PetCo on Cochrane Road. The Perfect Dog founder Diana Rapa said they had seven dog adoptions, all of which had special needs.
“We had more interest in special needs dogs than we’ve had in a while,” Rapa added. “It was really helpful to have an increased interest and adoption rate.”
Town Cats had several adoption centers across Santa Clara County including locations in Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Jose. The organization’s Executive Director, Rosi Mirko, said Town Cats adopted a total of 82 cats and kittens. Of those, 11 were senior cats and eight of them had special needs.
Overall, the goal was 5,000 adoptions between all participating shelters around the country. Nearly 8,000 dogs and cats found homes over the weekend, according to data released Wednesday by Maddie’s Fund.
Last weekend in San Martin, balloons and signs promoting free adoptions guided passersby to the plain building located next to U.S. 101, where a mobile food truck and other pet adoption organizations set up shop. Volunteers welcomed potential adopters and helped them select their preferred breed of animal.
Meanwhile, in the quieter dog quarantine room, Program Manager Albert Escobar with Santa Clara County Animal Care comforted a dog that was rescued from an abusive environment and was formerly a candidate for euthanization. Escobar said the county animal shelter and other area shelters vowed to stop euthanizing animals because of time or space concerns in 2009.
The vow made by the county animal shelter and WeCare, a coalition of the county animal shelter, Town Cats and four other Santa Clara County animal shelters dedicated to reducing euthanasia, is one the reasons Maddie’s Fund invited the WeCare shelters to hold a Pet Adoption Days weekend, Escobar said.
Because of this vow, all euthanizations – including owner-requested euthanizations – are only performed on animals classified as unhealthy and untreatable. However, an “unhealthy and untreatable” classification does not necessarily mean an animal will be euthanized.
The county animal shelter euthanized 253 animals in 2012, excluding the 143 owner-requested euthanizations. The shelter has an 89 percent live release, meaning 89 percent of the shelter’s animals were adopted, transferred to other shelters or returned to their owners. In 2012, all 2,309 healthy animals that came through the county shelter were adopted, placed with fosters or reunited with their owners, according to a newsletter sent Wednesday from District 1 Supervisor Mike Wasserman.
Normally, adoption fees range from $90 to $110 for kittens, puppies, cats and dogs – but the San Martin shelter waived those fees completely during Maddie’s Pet Adoption Days.
“We were really pleased with the turnout. It was just as expected,” Shelter Supervisor Brigid Wasson said.
Lively barks and meows spread through the narrow corridors and out into the shelter’s sectioned off yards, where potential dog adopters played with their prospective companions.
On Saturday, locals Sue and Kirby Kendall unexpectedly came across the Pet Adoption Days and left with a “chiweenie” – a Chihuahua and dachshund mix.
“We’ve talked about getting a companion dog for our dachshund,” Kirby said. “Since we saw the free adoption signs, we decided to go take a look.”
Gilroyans Ray and Yara Rodriguez came to the shelter Saturday in search of a companion dog for their pet Chihuahua, Wiggles. They left with the newest member of their family: a kiss-giving, beige-and-white Chihuahua named Mimi.
“We have been coming here for a couple months since Chiquita, Wiggle’s mother, died,” Ray said. “We wanted another Chihuahua and found what we were looking for.”
Pet Adoption Days is a nationwide event in its fourth year, taking place in eight metropolitan areas. With $4 million allocated for this year’s event, Maddie’s Fund will pay participating shelters $500 for every healthy, younger animal adopted; $1,000 for every senior or special needs animal; and $2,000 for animals that are over the age of 7 and also have a medical condition.
Escobar said Maddie’s Fund will review the San Martin animal shelter’s adoptions in the upcoming weeks prior to distributing the grant money. Wasson said the shelter will put the grant money towards medical supplies and procedures, which will allow animals with serious injuries to be healthy and adoptable.
