Latest news with #petadoption
CBS News
2 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Chicago Animal Care and Control running out of shelter space as stray and pet surrenders keep rising
Chicago Animal Care and Control running out of shelter space as stray and pet surrenders keep rising Chicago Animal Care and Control running out of shelter space as stray and pet surrenders keep rising Chicago Animal Care and Control running out of shelter space as stray and pet surrenders keep rising Chicago Animal Care and Control said it is seeing rising numbers of people turning in stray animals or surrendering their pets to city shelters this spring. The city agency posted on their social media that they've seen 56 animals a day in the first 20 days of May, up from 54 animals a day in April. They also posted a photo of a long line outside their intake center. They're now running out of room to take in new pets. "If you're considering surrendering, talk to us first," CACC wrote. "Rehoming directly gives your pet their best shot." The agency also said they're low on pet food and supplies for families in crisis, and noted families in crisis are more likely to give their pets up to a shelter if they cannot take care of them. They posted a link to their Amazon wishlist if anyone wants to help. Donations can also be dropped off at their facility at 2741 S. Western Avenue on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.
CBC
19-05-2025
- General
- CBC
She adopted 3 abandoned ferrets 5 years ago, wants former owner to know they were loved
Social Sharing Cassandra Fortier of Moose Jaw, Sask., said she couldn't imagine ever having to give up her pets — let alone without a way to find out where they ended up. It's what motivated her to write an open letter on the New Brunswick Reddit page to the former owner of three ferrets she adopted in the summer of 2020. "I just wanted that person to know what had happened, because it would eat me alive to wonder what had happened to them after I dropped them off that day," she said. But Fortier doesn't know who the past owner was or if the information reached them. That's because the ferrets were found on the porch of a Woodstock woman who was known for taking in cats in need. Fortier, who lived in Oromocto at the time, said the woman soon learned that the SPCA didn't take on ferrets. Instead, she was referred to the Ferret Lovers Society of Atlantic Canada, which is when Fortier, who had fostered ferrets in the past, was asked to take them. "I'm sure a lot of people are familiar with the term 'foster fail,' and that happened in fairly short order," said Fortier. Fortier named the ferrets Tia, Garth and Wayne — after Tia Carrere and the characters from Wayne's World. For the first two weeks, she had to dress in full personal protective equipment and take antiseptic showers to care for them while waiting for disease test results. WATCH | Pet owner explains why she thinks the ferrets came from a good home: Woman who cared for abandoned ferrets wants past owner to know they had a good life 3 hours ago Duration 1:30 Cassandra Fortier adopted three ferrets while living in New Brunswick in 2020. She cared for the animals, which had been left on someone's front step, for five years until they died. Now she wants the former owner to know they had a good life. Once they were cleared, the three ferrets settled in well with Fortier's other two. "A group of ferrets is called a business, so I liked to joke that I was a medium-sized business owner." Tia especially connected with Fortier's elderly ferret, Jimmy. Jimmy had insulinoma, a type of pancreatic tumour that causes the body to produce excessive amounts of insulin, which occurs commonly in ferrets. Fortier said ferrets are quite prone to several medical conditions, such as adrenal disease, lymphoma and chordoma — a spinal cancer. And while Fortier had a great vet in Fredericton, she said a lot of vets won't take on ferrets even though they require regular veterinary care. In the summer of 2021, Fortier said Tia also showed signs of insulinoma, but the surgery didn't improve her condition and she was euthanized that July. A year later, Garth also got insulinoma. From late summer 2022 until he was euthanized in February 2023, Fortier would use her coffee and lunch breaks at work to run home and manually empty his bladder. Garth was Fortier's only ever albino ferret, which meant he loved getting dirty. "I'd often take him out in the yard while I was gardening and he helped me plant a couple hundred tulip bulbs just by digging holes for me," she said. He loved to go to the garden centre in Lincoln and would "climb up on his hind legs and peer into the pots … while he thought I wasn't looking." Wayne was more of a playground guy. He loved to go down the slide, even though Fortier built him his own at home. She said he was also the most affectionate. After five years of living in Oromocto, Fortier accepted a job in Saskatchewan so she loaded up her hatchback with a five-gallon bucket with goldfish in the footwell, her cat on the heated seat next to her, and Wayne and her other ferret, Dewey, in the back. While living in the prairies, Wayne was diagnosed with chordoma on his neck, which meant he wasn't a candidate for surgery. A week before Wayne died, Dewey, who had lymphoma, had to be euthanized. Since ferrets are social animals, Fortier said Wayne quickly withdrew and his condition declined. On his last day before being euthanized, Fortier took him to a local park near the water where there wouldn't be anyone around to ask questions or want to pet him. "We just took some time to be together … enjoy the great outdoors and, you know, say goodbye." That was when Fortier wrote her open letter to the previous owner, similar to one she wrote after Garth died. Fortier said the ferrets were clean and affectionate and she can only assume they were well loved. "They ultimately ended up in a very loving home, you know, all of their needs were met, all of their wants were met, they were certainly very spoiled," she said. "After Wayne was put to sleep, I felt the need to sort of give that final update, and hope that the information reaches the original owner and that they're … confident that they had had a good life."
Forbes
16-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Attention, Walmart Shoppers: Bring Home A Free Dog Or Cat Tomorrow
Walmart shoppers will have the chance to meet adoptable dogs and cats tomorrow at seven store locations — and bring them home for free. The nationwide Bring Happy Home pet adoption event takes place from 9 a.m.–1 p.m. local time on Saturday, May 17 at Walmart stores in Houston, Texas; Los Angeles, California; Miami, Florida; North Bergen, New Jersey; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Phoenix, Arizona; and Salt Lake City, Utah. Over 150 cats and dogs from Best Friends Animal Society and partner shelters will have pet adoption fees covered by Walmart and Blue Buffalo, according to Julie Castle, CEO of Best Friends Animal Society, an animal welfare nonprofit working to end the killing of dogs and cats in America's shelters. 'Walmart is really into community values, and pets are part of the family,' she said. 'Being able to engage their employee base in something that is so fun and positive and brings so much joy to their customers I think is just a really big win for all of us.' Every available dog or cat will have been fully vetted for any health issues and be spayed or neutered, current on vaccinations and ready to go home with a goodie bag filled with toys and treats, she noted. She's inspired by the resilience of the dogs and cats available for adoption. For instance, a Belgian Malinois mix named Nicky landed in a Los Angeles shelter with a broken jaw. The team at Best Friends LA got him the veterinary care he needed, and now he's ready for adoption. 'We took Nicky in, we gave him love, we gave him medical attention, and today he's full of life and energy and is a spunky little dog who enjoys other dogs and runs around in playgroups,' Castle said. 'He's a really sweet, very beautiful dog. Hopefully he's going to find a home this weekend.' There are cool cats available for adoption, too. In a rural area outside of Houston, an animal control officer was surprised when a calico cat named Millie 'came running out of nowhere to greet him,' according to Castle. 'The animal control officer could see that Millie's eye was having problems and called us,' she said. 'She had an eye ulcer, which is sometimes not so reasonable for a small rural shelter to deal with. We treated her eye ulcer and she's probably always going to have a little bit of cloudy vision, but she's a great kitty.' The Bring Happy Home locations for the May 17 pet adoption event are at the following Walmart stores: If you miss tomorrow's Bring Happy Home event, you can still find pet adoption fees waived at Best Friends locations across the U.S. throughout May in honor of National Pet Month. Adoption fees will be covered by Blue Buffalo and Walmart. Castle said over 90% of U.S. animal shelters are within 20 miles of a Walmart store, so she hopes the Bring Happy Home promotion helps spread awareness that terrific dogs and cats are available at shelters across the country. She's constantly impressed by what many of them have overcome. 'One of the coolest parts of my job is to see all of these dogs and cats. They want to live — they're survivors,' she said. 'It's unbelievable the amount of trauma and pain that these animals can go through and the resiliency to bounce back and forgive and forget and find that true love again in their lives and be part of a loving family. It's really, really special, and it's something that we as humans, I think, could really learn from.' An estimated 7 million Americans will bring home a pet in the next year, Castle said, and she hopes many will choose to adopt animals from shelters instead of buying them from a breeder or pet store. 'Of those 7 million, if just 6 percent more decided to adopt rather than buy, then the problem would be solved,' she said. 'Consider adopting a pet because you're saving a life and you're not just doing that, but you're helping a shelter whose staff does not want to kill animals for a living. It's a profound impact and a domino effect. We are nearing the tipping point of ending killing in America's shelters for good.'
Forbes
06-05-2025
- General
- Forbes
Empty The Shelters Offers Discounted Pet Adoptions Across America
A litter of puppies waits for potential adopters in an animal shelter. getty If you've been thinking about adopting a shelter pet, there's no time like the present. In honor of May's National Pet Month, the nonprofit Bissell Pet Foundation's Empty the Shelters event is offering reduced adoption fees of $70 or less at over 380 animal shelters in 43 U.S. states from May 1-15 — with every dog or cat spayed or neutered, vaccinated and microchipped. It's all because of a shelter dog named Bear. Cathy Bissell, founder of Bissell Pet Foundation, didn't step foot into an animal shelter until her late 40s because she assumed it would be too sad. 'I was so nervous because I loved animals so much,' she says. 'I just didn't think my heart could handle seeing animals in the shelter.' But while hosting a fundraiser for a local Michigan animal shelter, her veterinarian introduced her to a 'regal, well-behaved' black Labrador retriever named Bear. His former owners had surrendered the 6-year-old Lab to a shelter for digging in their backyard. 'He must have been bored,' she says. A black Lab named Bear opened Cathy Bissell's eyes to the fact that wonderful pets are available in ... More animal shelters across America. Courtesy of Cathy Bissell Bissell convinced her husband that they should adopt Bear, who proved to be such an exceptional pet that he opened her eyes to the fact that many 'incredible' animals are waiting in shelters for forever homes. To help spread awareness and get people to consider adopting pets from animal shelters, Bissell Pet Foundation launched Empty the Shelters in 2016. It started small — just covering the bulk of adoption fees at a single shelter in Michigan to help get pets into homes — but it was so successful that other shelters started requesting help. Now Empty the Shelters is a national event has helped over 324,000 pets get out of shelters and into permanent homes. Many are bonded pairs who must be adopted together, or dogs who had been in an animal shelter for months or even over a year, she notes. 'Bear changed my life and changed the life of many, many other pets because I had a mission to make people aware of how wonderful pets were that were in the shelter,' Bissell says. 'So that's what it's about: bringing awareness to these incredible animals that are waiting for a second chance at life.' She notes there's an urgent need this year, as overcrowded shelters face financial constraints. Pets are being surrendered to shelters due to economic uncertainty — with some animal advocates concerned that tariffs will lead to an influx of pets into shelters — as well as a dearth of rental properties that allow pets and the rising costs of veterinary care. The Fostering Option There's a particular need for both adopters and fosters during the warmer months of kitten season. getty Potential adopters should consider whether they have the budget and time to bring home a pet, according to Bissell. For those who aren't ready, she notes that fostering is a terrific way to help shelters. (For instance, there's always a need for volunteers fostering kittens during the warmer months of kitten season.) Empty the Shelters has a fostering component so that potential adopters can see how a dog or cat fits into their family. While it's possible to get an idea of a pet's personality while they're in a shelter, sometimes they blossom in a home environment. For the past several weeks, she's been fostering a bonded pair of Labs — Bo and KC — who were so stressed during their three months in a shelter that they barked incessantly. 'In the three weeks that they've been here, the de-stressing that has gone on has been phenomenal,' she says. 'They know how to sit. They know how to do everything. They're extremely well behaved, but the shelter life was difficult for them. These dogs were barking a lot because they were so stressed and they hardly bark now. They're perfect angels.' Bissell grew so enamored with Bo and KC that she offered to pay their adoption fee from Michigan's Harbor Humane Society — which turned out to be just $25 each thanks to the Empty the Shelters discounted adoption fees. They're going to their new forever home today — a parting that will be bittersweet for Bissell but deeply rewarding. Because pets can make such a positive impact on our lives, she hopes Americans will consider adopting or fostering shelter pets, or volunteering at shelters, which have jobs ranging from playing with cats and walking dogs to doing laundry or making enrichment toys. Ultimately, pets bring companionship, exercise, fun personalities and unconditional love into our lives, Bissell says. 'We think that we're saving them, but they save us,' she says. 'Pets are just wonderful.'
