At least 100 animals were adopted at Alachua County Animal Resources on Saturday as part of its 15th annual Summer Lovin’ Adopt-A-Thon.
The event, which was held from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., waived adoption fees. All adoptable animals are spayed or neutered, microchipped, vaccinated and licensed, which is legally required for dogs, cats and ferrets in Alachua County.
Julie Johnson, director for Animal Resources, said this is their biggest adoption event of the year.
“Shelters across the country right now are so, so full,” Johnson said, “and we have been way at capacity and over capacity. And so we really need this breathing room, especially before the hurricanes start happening, to get families to adopt.”
Summer usually brings an influx of kittens and puppies, leaving shelters struggling to make space. ACAR has 105 dog kennels and 100 cat kennels, all of which are full, according to Johnson.
But the adopt-a-thon had cars overflowing and lining the street. In previous years, Johnson said, they have had anywhere from 150 to 280 animals adopted.
This year, ACAR reached its goal of adopting 100 animals two hours before the event ended.
Sarina Ferrer went to the event looking to adopt a dog and left with a puppy named Billy.
“It was Billy,” she said, “but we’ve decided to name him Battery because he just keeps going.”
At home, she has a cat and a bulldog but recently had to euthanize one of her pets, leaving her dog lonely, she said.
“It’s going to be wonderful,” Ferrer said. “And they do such an awesome job here. This was a wonderful experience.”
ACAR partnered with the University of Florida Student Chapter of the Association of Shelter Veterinarians for the past 15 years to help run the event.
This year, the club received a $7,800 grant from the Wagmore Foundation, which works to prevent needless euthanasia in Alachua County. It also had more than 60 volunteers help run the event.
“Our main job is marketing for the Adopt-A-Thon event and writing a grant to get some money for donated items, raffle items, goodie bag items, things like that,” said Berlin Waters, president of the UF Shelter Club.
Each adoption came with $300 to $600 in amenities. Adopters could take free supplies including toys, beds and collars. They could also put their name in a raffle for more personalized supplies.
For ACAR’s long term animal residents, adopters will go home with extra gifts as an incentive.
“We want people to come out that really want that forever pet, not a short term pet” Johnson said. “We don’t want to recycle pets, right? We want to make sure that it’s the right fit for you and your family.”