Successful Adopt-A-Thon

August 18, 2011

When the League opened its doors at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday morning for the Home Sweet Home Adopt-A-Thon, there were 143 adoptable animals in the building: 83 dogs and 60 cats. Those doors did not close again until 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, at which point there were only four dogs and 26 cats left in the shelter. A fortunate 79 dogs and 34 cats—as many animals as the League typically places in a month—were settling in to their new homes across the Washington metropolitan region.

Even dogs like Betty Cocker, a six-year-old cocker spaniel with a heart condition and a maximum life expectancy of two more years, found her retirement home. And Fantasy, a white mother cat with a gray “Mohawk” who arrived in May and watched all her kittens get adopted one by one, finally found a home of her own.

The bulk of the adoptions happened between 11:00 a.m. Saturday—a handful of eager adopters showed up at 8:00 a.m. to wait in line—and 6:00 p.m. that same day. No one came in during the overnight shift, though if they had, they would have found the shelter fully staffed. By 10:00 Sunday morning, the shelter was once again crowded with visitors, though the selection of adoptable animals, especially dogs, was quite a bit smaller.

Event sponsors Friendship Hospital for Animals, The Big Bad Woof, and ProFeed Pet Nutrition Centers each had tables piled with give-away’s for the newly adopted and their families. Doggie Style Bakery, DogCentric, Georgetown Cupcakes, Honest Tea, and Mayorga Coffee also gave out refreshments for animals and people and coupons for discounted services.

For the Adopt-A-Thon, the League waived our normal adoption fees in favor of a “pay what you will for priceless pets” policy. The average per animal worked out to $75, though one particularly generous adopter paid $500 for a four-month-old orange and white kitten. The smallest amount paid was $1, but those adopters immediately added a $99 donation.

Homeless animals being anything but rare this time of year, on Monday morning League staff set out to fill the shelter up again. Tthe League was back up to capacity by the next weekend.