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The Escambia County Department of Animal Welfare and Best Friends Animal Society are teaming up for a holiday adoption extravaganza Dec. 9-10 for National Adoption Weekend. Best Friends Animal Society is a leading animal welfare organization working to save the lives of cats and dogs in America’s shelters. The collaborative weekend-long event encourages people to open up their homes to adoptable animals by choosing to adopt, not buy, their next pet. During the event, the Department of Animal Welfare will waive adoption fees for anyone looking to take home a cat or dog.
Best Friends has partnered with over 600 shelters and rescues for the holiday campaign. The three previous adoption weekends resulted in over 25,000 pets finding loving families. Anyone considering adding a new pet to their family can make a difference by choosing to adopt instead buying their pet.
"The Department of Animal Welfare is participating in Best Friends National Adoption Weekend to remind our community that we still have plenty of great animals available for adoption," said Escambia County Animal Welfare Director John Robinson. "We will wave all adoption fees for the weekend and we hope to find all of our great animals homes for the holidays."
“There’s no better way to spread holiday cheer this holiday season than to adopt or foster a shelter pet in need,” said Julie Castle, CEO of Best Friends Animal Society. “By adopting a best friend, you’re giving one lucky dog or cat a home as well as creating space for another pet to be rescued. That means you become a lifesaver to two animals in need and there’s no better gift than that.”
National data trends show that 2022 has been a tough year for shelters. Across the country, shelters are struggling with higher intake, while live outcomes, such as adoptions, fosters and rescues are not keeping pace. This has led to a population imbalance, with more animals in shelters staying for longer periods, and causing increased strain on shelter staff. Additionally, many shelters are facing challenges with staffing shortages, limited hours, decreased volunteers, and reduced adoption events. All this adds up to the current crisis of most U.S. shelters being at or over capacity, resulting in pets being more at risk due to lack of space.
"Our shelter has been beyond capacity for months," said Robinson. "We understand that our community is struggling through hardships too, but we also know how supportive this community can be to help when there is an issue. The Escambia County Department of Animal Welfare needs that help, now more than ever, if we are going to continue the lifesaving work that we have done over the last several years. You can help by adopting, telling others to adopt, fostering or volunteering."
The Escambia County Animal Welfare and Adoption Center is located at 200 W. Fairfield Drive. Hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 12-5 p.m., and Saturdays from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information, visit MyEscambia.com/animal-welfare. Follow the Escambia County Department of Animal Welfare on Facebook for animal welfare news, adoption events and more.
About the Best Friends Network
The Best Friends Network is comprised of thousands of public and private shelters, rescue groups, spay/neuter organizations and other animal welfare organizations in all 50 states. We are a coalition committed to saving the lives of homeless cats and dogs through collaboration, information-sharing and implementation of proven lifesaving strategies. Our partners support each other and inspire their own communities to increase lifesaving of dogs and cats across the country.
The mission of Escambia County government is to provide efficient, responsive services that enhance our quality of life, meet common needs and promote a safe and healthy community.
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