About 100 cats and dogs will be ready for adoption this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at PetSmart’s fourth and final “Adopt-a-thon” of the year.
With the help of Helping Hands Pet Rescue and local volunteers, PetSmart gives about 100 cats and dogs homes four times a year at the event, which is part of a national campaign. Pet product manager Jennifer Brown said the Archer Road store ranked No. 1 nationwide last year.
“We’re very successful with adoptions at this location,” Brown said.
PetSmart offers adoption services every weekend, said store manager Mark Frantz, but the event this weekend “is the big one that’s done nationally.”
The potential house pets are mainly provided by local shelters, including Alachua County Animal Services.
Helping Hands Pet Rescue pulls most of its cats and dogs from shelters, and it is a “last-chance” destination for the homeless animals, said board member Kristi Herniman.
She said adoption fees will be waived for long-term resident dogs who have spent more than three months in a shelter.
“We don’t do ‘free adoptions’ because it makes people think they can just snatch them out of their cage,” Herniman said.
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 11/13/2014]
Sadie, a 2-year-old pit bull, salivates as people walk past cages of animals up for adoption at PetSmart Saturday.
