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MSPCA hosts fee-waived holiday adoptathon amid ongoing dog population crisis
The "Home for the Holidays" event, sponsored by Bissell Pet Foundation, kicked off Monday and runs through Sunday, Dec. 10.
Prospective adopters can take advantage of waived fees for all dogs over the age of 1 as part of MSPCA-Angell’s holiday adoptathon this week.
The “Home for the Holidays” event, sponsored by Bissell Pet Foundation, kicked off Monday and runs through Sunday, Dec. 10. During this time, the organization will waive all adoption fees for adult dogs, which typically range from $350-500.
The event is taking place at all four of the MSPCA’s adoption centers in Boston, Salem, Methuen, and Centerville on Cape Cod.
Due to an ongoing dog population crisis, thousands of dogs across the U.S. are at risk of euthanasia simply because they do not have a home, MSPCA-Angell noted in a release.
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“Shelters across the country are seeing a slowdown in dog adoptions and it’s been going on for close to a year,” noted Mike Keiley, MSPCA-Angell director of adoption centers and programs, in the statement.
“We’ve been doing all we can to help, both by transporting hundreds of dogs here to Massachusetts where there are more adopters, and by working with partner shelters to execute similar fee waived events to help attract more adopters to their shelters as well,” he said.
“It’s critical that we’re able to continue helping those shelters that are over capacity, but, in order to do that, we need to find homes for the dogs in our care,” Keiley added.
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A few of the available dogs include Nova, a 3-year-old Labrador retriever who “seems to have two speeds: active, or sleeping”; Talia, a 1-year-old German shepherd who “revels in the love and attention from her human companions”; and Dewey, a 2-year-old pit bull terrier mix, described as “a class clown – sometimes seemingly not in control of his limbs, he can be a bit on the mischievous (but not very sneaky) side,” according to their adoption profiles.
For the adopter looking for the “perfect hiking companion,” there is Tammy, a 1-year-old American pit bull terrier mix “with a zest for life” and “an insatiable love for playing fetch, ensuring there’s never a dull moment when she’s around,” her profile noted.
Plus, there’s Georgie, an 8-year-old Labrador retriever mix, who “is as smart as he is handsome” with his shelter profile adding, “You’d be hard pressed to find a dog with a bigger smile than this guy, when he’s with his humans.”
Check out more of the dogs available at mspca.org/adoptadog. Dogs eligible for the adoptathon have stars on their profiles.
To learn more, visit one of the MSPCA’s adoption centers on the following days:
- Boston Adoption Center: Tuesday-Sunday, noon to 3 p.m.
- Nevins Farm Adoption Center: Tuesday-Sunday, noon to 3 p.m.
- Cape Cod Adoption Center: Tuesday-Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
- Northeast Animal Shelter: Daily, 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Last month, Boston.com honored Adopt a Senior Pet Month by asking readers who have adopted older animals to share photos of their beloved pets, as well as advice for others who may be interested in adopting a senior pet.
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We also visited the Boston location of MSPCA-Angell to learn more the benefits of adopting senior pets. See a video from the visit below:
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