After a flat tire, a broken exhaust clamp and very little sleep, five women are heading back to Louisiana today (Sunday) with an empty trailer and five very happy hearts. On Friday afternoon, three St. Tammany Humane Society staff members and two dedicated volunteers with a trailer full of homeless “flood dogs” made their way to Jacksonville, Florida for the largest mega-adoption event in the country! First Coast No More Homeless Pets hosts adoption events like this one several times a year and have found homes for 12,000 dogs and cats since 2012. Michael Cassarino, an employee of the organization, heard we needed help placing some of our rescued Louisiana “flood dogs” into homes before the holidays. A transport of this size and length was one the shelter had never attempted, but Scott Bernier, CEO of St. Tammany Humane Society, jumped on the invitation!
With only two days to prepare, 28 dogs were chosen for the voyage of a lifetime. All dogs had to be re-examined by STHS veterinarians to receive health certificates to cross state lines. Pre-adoption paperwork had to be completed for each dog, as well as personality tests and administrative work including basic kennel cards and written stories for the 28. The STHS Adoption Trailer was cleaned, organized and packed with the essentials - kennels, food, harnesses, leashes, bowls, blankets, cleaning supplies, etc. It was quite an undertaking, but it was worth every minute!
The doors opened at 10:00 am Saturday morning and in less than two hours almost half of the 28 pups had found forever homes! One-by-one each dog caught a family’s eye until there were only three left; a goofy black hound mix named Cheshire Cat, a timid boy named Bass and a beautiful girl that went by the name of Hoo Shoo Too! It didn’t take long for these three to finally meet their match and they too found forever. The shelter’s kennels were completely empty before the event closed at 6:00 pm. “The day was unreal! We couldn't move fast enough,” said STHS Adoption Counselor, Jacqie Bella. “Words cannot express the feelings we had as we left that building,” she also commented.
St. Tammany Humane Society would like to thank all of the people and businesses that made this trip possible. Thank you to the two volunteers who donated their time and truck! Thank you to STHS supporters including Laurie Hood of Alaqua Animal Refuge for sponsoring the entire trip. Thank you to Petco Foundation and First Coast No More Homeless Pets for the invitation and a very special thank you to all of the families who adopted a homeless animal this weekend! If you would like to see more pictures from the day, please click HERE!
