Just over a month ago, the city of Joplin was hit by a huge tornado that wiped out miles of homes in the city and was responsible for the death of more than 150 people.
The response from the surrounding communities to help those who needed it has been great -- from police officers sent down to protect from looting, to supplies sent to people helping out with pets who lost their homes in the event. An estimated 90 organizations from around the country dedicated volunteers just for helping animals in the event.
Over the weekend, the Joplin Humane Society -- with the help of many organizations including the ASPCA, held a major adopt-a-thon for animals that were not able to be reunited with owners following the tornado.
On Saturday, an estimated 2,000 people from 24 states waited in line to adopt pets from the shelter -- and a total of 385 pets (210 dogs and 175 cats) were adopted.
By the end of the weekend, an estimated 5700 people entered the doors of the Humane Society and 745 pets were adopted.
There was no adoption fee and all pets had been spayed or neutered, microchipped and given up-to-date vaccines. The event was such a success that the Joplin Humane Society is continuing to waive adoption fees through Saturday July 9.
Obviously this is a huge success for the 700+ animals that lost their homes due to last month's tornado (an estimated 500 animals were reunited with their owners)....and a huge testimate to the power of reaching out and asking for help from the community at large to help. When we ask people to step up, they have an amazing ability to do so.
This is obviously a huge success story. One that oozes community support, help from others when you ask, and a nation of animal lovers who want to help animals in need.
So I ask, why only take advantage of this in times of extreme tragedy? Why not hold major adopt-a-thons more regularly to help move animals out of shelters? If eliminated adoption fees proves to increase adoptions, why not eliminate them more often? (we know that "free cats" programs work, as does pay as you wish pricing). And we know that marketing our homeless pets works as well, as does marketing our adoption specials. So why not do them more often?
Yes, it helps that this situation involved a major tragedy -- and people really did want to help any way they could. But we are a nation of pet lovers, and when you reach out and give people a reason to help -- they do tend to help.
Which is why we should find every excuse reason possible to reach out and ask.
In fact, I would love for a shelter like Memphis Animal Services (or any other high-kill shelter) to try to prove me wrong. I would love for them to run a promotion -- 1 weekend only required at first - and waive adoption fees. Invite everyone to come to your shelter and adopt pets because you're "overcrowded" and "want to save them". And see if it works. If it doesn't work, I'll never mention it again. I'll admit that I'm wrong and that people don't want to help homeless pets. But if it does work, and a lot of animals get adopted -- then you have the obligation to do it repeatedly.
Because this type of promotion works. It's proven time and time again to do so. All it takes is the desire to reach out and ask for the help.
For more on Joplin: KC Dogs Examiner
This was a great success, and I'm sure that many of the pets were up for adoption because their owners were either killed or now have much weightier concerns after the terrible tornado. But no doubt some of those pets were up for adoption simply because nobody could figure out who they belonged to.
Watch the documentary "Mine", which really shows the impossible situation that shelters were in with unidentified Katrina pets. It would convince anyone to make sure their pet is microchipped.
Posted by: Joel | June 28, 2011 at 01:29 PM
Yes, shelters would "lose" a lot less money on fee-free adoption than they spend on euthanasia drugs and personnel time; even gain community support by slashing the number of animals killed each year. Hope someone takes you up on it!
Posted by: Mary Haight | June 30, 2011 at 02:56 AM