Shelter to hold ‘super adoption’
Rhode Island SPCA shelter in East Providence will hold a first- ever ‘ Super- Adoption Day’ to find new homes for pets
RISPCA animal shelter plans event to ease overcrowding
EAST PROVIDENCE — The Rhode Island SPCA at 186 Amaral St. in Riverside is at full capacity and if you’ve been thinking about adopting a pet, now is a great time.
“We’re filled up,” says Jim McGee, RISPCA’s director of development and volunteering.
McGee says there are currently between 25 and 30 dogs and 30 to 35 cats housed at the shelter with virtually no room to take in more.
“We’re at capacity,” says McGee. “During the winter months the number of dogs and cats at the shelter was actually low, but right now we’re bursting at the seams.”
On Saturday, the RISPCA will be doing something it’s never done before to help those adoptable pets find a home. The event is called Super Adoption Day and Pet Parade and it’s designed to streamline adoptions by incorporating reduced adoption fees and same-day adoptions.
According to McGee, there will be extra staff on hand during the event, which will be held between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. at the RISPCA on Amaral Street. There will be tons of raffles, door prizes and giveaways and plenty of cute dogs and cats looking for their forever homes.
A highlight of the event will be the adoptable dog parade at 1 p.m. Every dog at the shelter will be brought outside by a volunteer handler and paraded before visitors so prospective adopters can see them up close and get a feel for their personalities.
“Instead of people coming inside the shelter to see the dogs, we thought it would be fun for both our visitors and the dogs to bring the dogs outside in the fresh air so people can pet them, sit with them and get to know them,” McGee said.
McGee is advising people who may be interested in coming Saturday to leave their own pets at home.
If someone does decide to adopt a dog or cat during the event, the RISPCA will be reducing adoption fees ($75 for dogs and $25 for adult cats) that day only.
And the adoption process will be made a lot easier and faster, which means if a prospective adopter’s application is approved, they can go home with their new pet that same day.
Approximately 6.5 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.3 million are dogs and 3.2 million are cats.
Each year, the Rhode Island SPCA handles approximately 1,300 animals, across a wide variety of domestic pet and farm animal species, with the bulk of its intake being dogs and cats.
The RISPCA has an 88 percent adoption rate, one of the highest in the country. The reason this number isn’t even higher is because of pets that come in with terminal illnesses or severe medical issues and because of dogs that come in extremely aggressive and unable to be safely adopted.
The RISPCA has no time limits for its adoptable animals.
“We do our utmost to provide a pleasant environment, enrichment and socialization for all our animals so that they can thrive here at the shelter until they can be placed,” McGee says.
While McGee is advising people to leave their own pets at home for the Super Adoption Day and Pet Parade, they are more than welcome to bring them to the Rhode Island SPCA Dog Walk, the organization’s annual dog walk fundraiser.
This year’s event will be held Saturday, Sept. 30 at Rose Larisa Park in Riverside.
Sign-ins begin at 10 a.m. and the walk start at 11:30 a.m. along the waterfront at Larisa Park.
The event will include vendors, dog/owner lookalike contests, kids activities and microchips for dogs ($35).
There is no minimum amount walkers must raise. The more money participants raise at the pledge style fundraiser, the more prizes they earn. All those who raise at least $50 receive an RISPCAWalk t-shirt.
The money raised at the walk goes directly toward helping the shelter’s animals by providing food, shelter, veterinary care and a chance for a new home.