Hundreds of Pets find a Home for the Holidays

Here is some good news to start the new year. The fifth annual Oregon Humane Society Home for the Holidays adoption campaign was a major success. More than 850 pets were adopted and more than 10,000 people visited the shelter during the month of December.

The goal of the adoption campaign was to find a permanent home by Dec. 31st for each of the 274 animals who were living in the shelter as of Dec. 1st. Of that group, 209 found homes. OHS is glad to report it also found homes in December for another 657 animals who arrived in the shelter after Dec. 1st, making it one of the best Decembers in the shelter’s history.

"This campaign drew attention to many or our long-term guests that for some reason had been overlooked," said Sharon Harmon, Executive Director of OHS. "I want to thank the public for opening their hearts to these animals, as many of these pets had been here since the summer.”

The remaining 65 Home for the Holidays animals will stay available for adoption as long as needed because OHS does not impose any time limits on adoptions and never euthanizes animals for space.

Notable animals that found permanent homes during the campaign include:

-- Ms. Patches, a black and white green-eyed beauty of a cat who has been looking for a home since June 28 and who was the shelter’s longest feline resident.

-- Spunky and Pepper, a pair of bonded dogs who had been at the shelter since August. This was not their first trip to OHS; they returned here after their previous owner (who adopted them from OHS) passed away.

“My thanks go out to everyone who opened up their hearts and homes to new pets. What better way to bring in the New Year than with a new furry friend,” said Harmon.