Ahead of National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day, consider a few ways to celebrate the day.
April 30 is Adopt a Shelter Pet Day, a day to celebrate and raise awareness for America's furry friends in animal shelters. The ASPCA says that roughly 6.3 million cats and dogs enter shelters yearly and sadly, around 920,000 are euthanized.
This year, here are some options for assisting animals in need.
Donate to pets in need: Kitten Shower at the Asheville Humane Society
Donating to your local animal shelter is always a great option when it comes to charity, and Adopt a Shelter Pet Day is a perfect reason to lend a helping hand. One particular option in WNC comes in the form of a "Kitten Shower."
The Asheville Humane Society holds a yearly Kitten Shower in order to collect needed supplies for the kittens in their care. They have asked WNC residents (and anyone else who wants to help) to consider donating to their kitten care wish list on Amazon. Donations of crucial items like blankets, toys, soft food and playpens allow the AHS to free up more of their budget to purchase specialty supplies for kitten cases that require more intensive care.
AHS is also launching an education campaign to inform Buncombe County residents on what to do if they find a kitten or litter in the community. They remind the community that removing a kitten from its mother can be extremely harmful in the first weeks of formative development, and hope to reduce “kit-napping” with resources illustrating the signs of when a kitten/litter needs intervention, and when they should stay with their mom.
For more information on these materials, text KITTENS to 828-220-5559 or visit ashevillehumane.org/found-kittens.
Volunteer to foster a shelter pet
Can't adopt? The AHS is always looking for foster parents. Even volunteering to house an animal for a few days can offer a valuable, calming break from the sounds and smells of the shelter.
Fosters must:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Have a reliable vehicle
- Live within a 30 minute radius if fostering infant or fragile animals
- Live within a 45 minute radius if fostering an adult animal
Visit the AHS webpage to learn more about fostering.
Adopt a shelter pet
Of course, the most obvious answer to how to best celebrate National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day is to adopt a shelter pet.
Some shelters with adoptable animals in the WNC area include:
The Asheville Humane Society holds regular reduced or waived fee events at their adoption center where you can meet and greet candidates for a new furry friend.
The adoption services website has over 270,000 adoptable pets listed from over 8,700 animal shelters, many of which have spent years waiting to be adopted. In honor of Adopt a Shelter Pet Day, PetPlace has created a list of 15 featured adoptable cats and dogs who have collectively waited a total of over 8,200 days to be adopted.
One of their featured "Worth the Wait" pets has already found a new home. Now, their goal is to find homes for the other 14 by the holiday on April 30. In order to meet this goal, PetPlace has waived adoption fees for all of these featured pets.
Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at iseaton@citizentimes.com.
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