Every dog has its day
On Saturday, it was Super Adoption Day, which found forever homes for pets in need
EAST PROVIDENCE — Three months ago, Roslindale, Mass. native Helen Loney lost her 13-year-old golden retriever Hunter, as she had no other option but to put the dog to rest
“Three have already been adopted this morning. We’ve had lots of applications... the kennels were just about full for quite a few months.”
—RISPCA employee Jim McGee
after it struggled with hip troubles in its advanced age.
Wondering if she'd ever find another four-legged companion to call her own, Loney was alerted to a special day in East Providence that may help her find a new furry friend. Via her granddaughter's post on Facebook, Loney was made aware of the Rhode Island SPCA's Super Adoption Day and Pet Parade on Saturday, at which the society hoped to streamline adoptions by incorporating reduced fees and same-day adoptions.
So Loney and her family made the hour-long drive down Interstate 95 into the Riverside section of East Providence in the hopes that she'd find a pet to bring home. After a short search,
and with the assistance of some research done online in the days prior, she met her mate: a five-year-old black lab named Abby.
“I like labs, I've had two before … I'm a dog lover, I've always had a dog,” Loney said as she was completing the paperwork to bring Abby home to Roslindale. “Oh it's good … She's so sweet and very friendly. I'll have to go buy some tennis balls for her!”
“It's a very special day,” Loney added.
To hear that was what made Saturday so special for RISPCA employees, particularly Jim McGee, the society's director of development and volunteering. As of noon on Saturday, about an hour after the adoption day event had opened, parking spaces were full and families from across the region were pouring through the shelters, observing dogs and cats that they may soon call new members of their family.
“Three have already been adopted this morning,” McGee said around noontime. “We've had lots of applications … The kennels were just about full for quite a few months.”
The Amaral Street shelter was at capacity as McGee said there were about 30 dogs and 35 cats housed at the shelter, with virtually no room prior to Saturday to take in any more.
Each year, the RISPCA 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 RISPCAhas an 88 percent adoption rate, one of the highest in the country.
Among the dogs up for adoption on Saturday, the pups ranged in age from about one year to 12 years old. To see an older dog get adopted, particularly the ones whose owners had to relinquish them, was quite special, McGee said.
“That's awesome because it's harder to find interest. That's what is great about an event like today,” McGee said. “They have a lot of energy and spunk left.”
Inside the shelter, Caroline Tien of Barrington was quickly making friends with Shooter, a four-year-old Great Pyrenees. She said her family recently lost their border collie, and the house has felt a bit empty without having their canine companion around.
“All we have now is a cat, the house feels a little lonely,” Tien said as she pet Shooter on the snout. “He's a beautiful dog, he's not barky, he's very relaxed and calm and wants to be petted.”
If all went well on Saturday, she said, perhaps Shooter or one of the other 30plus pooches would call their Barrington residence home.
As McGee looked over the crowd of several dozen quickly making friends with the dogs and cats inside the shelter, a smile came across his face.
“This is awesome, we've never had this many,” he said of the visitors inside the shelter. And hopefully by the end of the day, there would be a few less pups and kitties who call the Riverside space their temporary home.