7-year-old Izzy was adopted from Friends of Homeless Animals thanks to ALAP Day!
On Aug. 12, Petfinder and shelters and rescue groups across the country celebrated Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Day, a day we designated to give all those pets who are often overlooked a chance to shine. Here are just a few ways adoption groups put their extra-special pets in the spotlight -- and found new homes for some of them as well:
Three New Jersey rescue groups, Friends of Homeless Animals in Hawthorne, Here Kitty Kitty! in Paterson and Angels of Animals in Clifton teamed up to do a joint ALAP Day adoption weekend at the PETCO in Clifton. Senior cat Izzy, who'd been waiting for her forever home for way too long, found that home thanks to ALAP Day!
Our friends at The Grey Muzzle Organization, which helps at-risk senior dogs by providing funding and resources to animal shelters, rescue groups, sanctuaries and other non-profits nationwide, added our senior-pet search widget to their Web site, GreyMuzzle.org.
Washington's Seattle Animal Shelter got the story of Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Day out to local media and bloggers. As a result, five "less adoptable" pets found new homes, including two Pit Bulls with special needs!
Friends of Homeless Animals promoted the special day with a PETCO adoption event.
Effingham County Humane Society in Effingham, IL, had lots of good news last week: The organization signed an agreement to purchase a new shelter on five acres of land, and found homes for three senior dogs and one senior cat on Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Day!Angel's Wish in Verona, WI, promoted an Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Day cat adoption event to more than 500 fans of the group's Facebook page. According to its Facebook status updates, four "impurrfect" cats were adopted as a result: Tiki, Kya, Lizbeth and Isabella!
Boston Terrier Rescue of Greater Houston in The Woodlands, TX, created an online slideshow featuring older, senior and special-needs rescues to share with volunteers, friends, fans and prospective adopters.
Minnesota Valley Humane Society in Burnsville, MN, posted Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Day all over the shelter (including inside the bathroom stalls!) and offered 25% off the adoption donation for each "less adoptable" pet adopted on August 12.
Greyhound Adoption Center in El Cajon, CA, combined Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Day with an open house to introduce its new location and promote older, shy and special-needs Greyhounds.
Rolling Hills Humane Society in Paris, TN, has extended Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Day for the whole month of August to promote less-adoptable dogs. Using its Petfinder home page and a local radio station to get the word out, the group has adopted out two "less adoptable" dogs so far!
Cat Assistance Inc. in Ardsley, NY,
Wee Bar None Ranch
Thanks to everyone who helped make the first annual Adopt-A-Less-Adoptable-Pet Day a success! We hope that the awareness raised about extra-special pets will last year-round.
We made a big effort to feature our less adoptable pets in the month running up to august 12. All our black animals have an extra note on their petfinder pages, which informs people about 'big black dog syndrome' and how black animals are overlooked. As a result, several adopters who had been looking at our petfinder pages arrived and specifically asked to be shown black dogs.
This has helped boost our confidence when taking on large black dogs - there are two big black labs in the city kennels that we are preparing to bring to our no-kill rescue shelter. We are confident that if we really push for them and go the extra mile, the homes will be found.
Education has proved to be a big help - posters around town and spreading the word, the widget on our website, and notes on our petfinder pages have helped to inform many people that were previously unaware that some shelter animals face more challenges finding homes than others. Thank you petfinders for motivating us and educating so many!!
www.wynnefoa.com