Give a Home for the Holidays – Generous Partnerships Benefit Pet Adoptions

Published on December 17, 2015

Huntsville Animal Services relies on its volunteers and community partners to assist with adoptions, fostering and promotion. When Shelter Director Dr. Karen Sheppard said she needed beds for the dogs and cats, volunteer Rachel McCuen went into action and launched a bed drive using social media. In five days citizens purchased more than 100 beds, exceeding the Shelter’s goal.

“We were thrilled with the public response to this need,” said Dr. Karen Sheppard. “The cat towers are perfect for our felines, and the dog beds come in different sizes. This is a dream come true for our Shelter, and we are grateful to Rachel, the public, and our media partners for making this happen.”

The beds come from Kuranda, a small manufacturing company based in Maryland that builds cot-style beds for shelters across the world. Dr. Sheppard says the beds are ideal for keeping pets comfortable and dry off a hard cold floor.

“Huntsville’s heart is big and deep,” said Mayor Tommy Battle. “We rely on our community partners, and our citizens responded to a need with their amazing generosity. We are grateful to our supporters, to volunteers like Rachel, and to programs like Best Friends and companies like Zappos for supporting our Shelter.

The Best Friends Animal Society’s No More Homeless Pets Network, in conjunction with Zappos, helped the Animal Shelter with its Cyber Monday Pet Adoption promotions. For Cyber Monday’s adoption promotion, Zappos wrote a check for $3,535 to reimburse the Shelter for 101 adoptions at $35 each.

Best Friends focuses on building relationships and working with rescue organizations and municipal shelters across the country to end the killing of dogs and cats in our nation’s shelters. They also provide Huntsville Animal Services with marketing materials for monthly adoption and foster events. As a result, Dr. Sheppard expects to end 2015 with a record 90 percent live release rate.

“Without these network partners and our volunteers, we would not be having this level of success toward our mission – to find a home for every treatable and adoptable pet,” said Dr. Sheppard.

The next adoption event at the shelter, “Give a Home for the Holidays” will be held on Tuesday, December 22, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Animal Services. Adult cats and dogs will be free and kittens and puppies will be $50.