On Saturday, August 15th, Saga Humane Society celebrated the first ever International Homeless Animal Day in San Pedro. Saga highlighted homeless animals from around the world with an adoption campaign for their animals. The event kicked off at noon and went on until 5PM with the showcasing of adoptable pets for the general public while at the same time introducing the San Pedro residents to the work done by Saga.
Dawn LoCascio, one of the organizers stated that the event was fun and they had a good turnout. “It was big day for us especially in view of the Dog Act being enforced and the new pet adoption. We are on such a great track. We got some lookers and I am happy to say that we also had five adoptions which are in process. The animals loved all the attention and the most interesting part is that there were people visiting Fort Dog who had never been there before,” said LoCascio.
LoCascio indicated that in their policy they do not allow same day adoptions as they must verify housing, prior animal care from potential owners’ veterinarian. Also the potential owners need to indicate where the cat or dog will be kept when the family is away from home. “We want to be sure that each of our dogs or cats goes to a good family and the right situation. We also need to evaluate how the new pet will get along with existing pets if that family does have other animals, so the five who came on Saturday will be coming back for final interviews with Ingrid Lima our Clinic manager. She will then make the decision to approve the adoption, or not. Not everyone who comes to Saga for a dog or cat gets one. We have invested money and more importantly love into each of these animals. Most have had a really rough start in life and we want to be sure that the rest of their days are full of love,” stated LoCascio.
This is the first adoption event of its kind. “Things may be a bit scattered, but we also look at this as an opportunity to hold future events at off site locations. This is somewhat of a practice run for us as we are currently scheduling another adoption event called “Coffee & Pooches” to be held at Rum + Bean in the near future. When we go off site, we want it to be perfect,” ended LoCascio.
The organizers would like to thank all the staff, friends and volunteers at Saga. Laura at Rum + Bean, Mary Troup and her daughter Karen, Judy Allen, Beth Rogers, Sandie Betz Einsenberg, Hayley Baer, Cherly Bowen, Heather Smith The San Pedro Sun and everyone who came out on Saturday and was part of the event.
For those who do not know where Saga’s Fort Dog is located, it is one street behind the clinic on Seagrape Street. Stop by to see the dogs, and find out how you can walk them.
