Taking it to the streets
Area shelters find it's all about location when it comes to finding homes for companion animals
6/27/2009
Photo by: Ben Swan/The New Mexican
On a recent Sunday, a group of smiling faces was huddled around a white fluffy puppy, aptly named Snowball. Kristie, Ava and Celia were enthralled with him, but were unsure. Another family, Carl, Kathleen and Diego, couldn't keep their eyes off him.
Once the bouncing puppy was in Kathleen's hands, Diego nestled his head in the warmth of the puppy's belly.
"I'm not sure about this," said the father, Carl, carefully watching the two cuddle Snowball. "We were going to a movie and saw this on the way. They are falling in love."
Just like in real estate, sometimes it's all about location when it comes to adoptions, said Bill Hutchison, communications manager for the Santa Fe Shelter & Humane Society. That's why most animal-rescue groups make an effort to hold adoption events where people congregate, like shopping malls, pet stores, community centers and, in the most recent large-scale adoption event, at the Lowe's parking lot.
Aside from the visibility, the events make it convenient to adopt a companion animal.
"It's huge," Hutchison said about off-site adoptions. "It really makes a difference."
The shelter has about three off-site adoptions weekly, said Randi Finlayson, the shelter's off-site adoption coordinator. The number of animals at an event depends on the number of volunteers Finlayson can enlist.
This year, the shelter has adopted 818 animals from its Caja del Rio Road facility. An additional 141 animals have been adopted at off-site events. Hutchison said he'd bet top dollar that those animals wouldn't have been adopted if they hadn't gone out to greet the public.
"There's something about it that sets it off," Hutchison said. "Part of it is the novelty, but it's also the location. People stop by or show up to have a look and something pushes them over the edge and they adopt. They could have been thinking about it a while and then suddenly the animals are available."
Despite a steady downpour at the recent event, a joint effort with the Northern New Mexico Companion Animal Alliance, Fido Friendly magazine and the North Shore Animal League, the Santa Fe shelter found homes for 10 dogs and three cats.
"We were happy to get some animals homes," said Kerry Peavey, the shelter's events coordinator. "Every little bit helps."
Especially in these trying economic times. While owner-surrenders have leveled off, there's been steady stream of abandoned or stray animals that need care, Hutchison said. And the shelter's packed with felines, with at least 50 available, and at least another 80 waiting in the wings.
That's one reason the shelter's offering a new promotion: 100 Cats of Summer. For the next several weeks, adult cats will be available for $20; kittens will cost only $50. And if someone adopts an adult or kitten, the fee for a second feline is waived.
The special event will culminate July 19 with a Kittypalooza at the shelter's satellite spay and neuter clinic next to the Outback Steakhouse on Camino Entrada. As many cats as possible will be at the event, which will feature information on felines and other activities.
The Española Valley Humane Society is also bursting at the seams with animals, especially companion felines.
"We're having a major cat boom," said Nina Chiotasso, who handles the shelter's community relations. "I think people just don't realize the importance of spay and neutering for cats or how young and how often cats can breed."
To help relieve some of the feline pressure, the shelter is planning its second annual Kitten Festival from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 25 at the Santa Fe Petco. Last year, more than 54 felines found homes during the event.
The shelter plans to bring between 75 and 90 altered kittens and adult cats; each will be available for adoption for $40. Those who adopt will also receive a gift bag that includes goodies and discount coupons.
The event will also feature games, contests and prizes.
Having off-site adoption events is critical, especially for a shelter that might be out of the way for some, Chiotasso said. She estimates up to one-quarter of the shelter's animals are adopted through off-site events.
In addition to convenience, the events create a more positive experience, she said.
"No matter how cheerful a shelter, there's always going to be something emotional about a shelter," she said. "At an adoption event, there's a more positive atmosphere and less pressure. It's upbeat. You don't want anyone to adopt an animal because of guilt."
The shelter was only able to find homes for three animals at the June 14 event, Chiotasso said, but the exposure was also important.
One draw at the event was the League's mobile adoption van presented by Purina and the One Hope Network. Susan Sims, editor of Fido Friendly magazine, and her husband, Greg, have been following the van from Santa Monica, Calif., in a chase car along Route 66 since July 1. The "poster dog," Junior, a black Labrador retriever from the Idaho Humane Society in Boise has been accompanying the couple. The dog's image is featured on the mobile van's side, which was "wrapped" courtesy of one of the event's partners, 3M.
The Get Your Kicks on Route 66 Adoption Road Trip, which ends July 1 at the North Shore League's headquarters near Chicago, is meant to raise awareness about the plight of homeless pets and increase pet adoptions, Sims said. The troupe partners with local shelters along the way and hosts adoption events.
"Our idea is to get as many animals out here (for adoption) as possible," she said. "The climate-controlled bus can actually go to the shelters and bring the animals to the venue."
Sims said the van will likely come through again next year. In addition to helping adopt pets, such events are also meant to put a focus on what's available at area shelters.
"Today's shelters do so much more now," Sims said. "They offer low-cost spay and neutering, training and microchipping. That's important to know in these hard times. There's just so much more you can do when you rescue these forever pets."
Snowball, the fluffy, white puppy ended up finding a home at the event, said off-site adoption coordinator Finlayson. But Diego, the boy who had an interest in the dog, agreed to let another person adopt him. The family already had a dog, Finlayson said, and stopping by the event was on impulse.
The parents overheard the man talking to his girlfriend on his cell phone about Snowball, Finlayson said, adding that the man had viewed Snowball online and had driven from Los Alamos to meet him. The two told Diego, and the boy agreed to let the other person adopt the puppy.
"It just brought tears to my eyes," Finlayson said. "That little boy was so sentient and so in tune. There's something about animals that just brings the best out of people."