Nevadans take home 1,517 cats and dogs during Maddie’s Pet Adoption Days

More than 50 animal shelters and rescue groups participated in Nevada’s large free pet adoption event, Maddie’s Pet Adoption Days. It was organized by Maddie's Pet Project in Nevada, a three-year campaign aimed at helping more homeless cats and dogs find good homes and creating a safety net for pets by improving access to veterinary care in the Silver State.

A total of 751 cats and 766 dogs are now in loving homes thanks to the event held Sept. 27-28. More than 28 other animals were adopted, too, including rabbits, hamsters and guinea pigs.

Shelters and rescue groups participated in 19 communities: Carson City, Reno, Sparks, Washoe Valley, Silver Springs, Fernley, Fallon, Yerington, Incline Village, Ely, Elko, Winnemucca, Mesquite, Boulder City, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson and Pahrump. In order to enable shelters to waive adoption fees, Maddie’s Pet Project in Nevada is awarding participating organizations $200 for each cat and dog adopted out during the event to cover sheltering expenses.

At Nevada Humane Society, 60 dogs and 129 cats went home between their two facilities, one in Reno and one in Carson City. The big story was at Carson City, where they emptied their cat room thanks to the fact that all their cats went home in two days!

Hoss, a dog with Churchill Animal Protection Society in Fallon, had been with the rescue for over three years. A truck driver met Hoss several months ago, bonding instantly then and adopting him.

For a few weeks, Hoss enjoyed road trips with his new person until company policy suddenly changed and Hoss could no longer ride along. His person was heartbroken but returned him to the rescue. Recently, the driver moved to Fallon. When he realized that Hoss was still with the rescue, he came back for him — and Hoss recognized him. Now, the two are home together!

Several rural areas exceeded expectations with pet adoptions. Ely Animal Control adopted 5 dogs and 4 cats, the City of Elko Animal Shelter adopted 7 dogs and 29 cats, Animal Rescue Group of Northern Nevada in Fernley adopted 31 cats, and three groups in Nye County cumulatively adopted 35 dogs and 48 cats.

Maddie’s Pet Adoption Days has been held three times, twice in 2018 and once this past spring, but it wasn’t until now that adoption numbers drastically increased for these regions.

The event has been held three times previously, so when Ann Inabnitt, Supervisor for Boulder City Animal Control, signed up, she didn’t know what to expect. At the close of the event she said, “We adopted out 16 cats and 1 dog in two days. For us, that amounts to 54 percent of the animals that were available for adoption. We are so grateful! Thank you!’

The Animal Foundation adopted out 135 dogs and 92 cats, including a dog named Rocky, a senior and their longest-term resident. Rocky’s new mom is a first-time pet owner. She saw him being walked, recognizing him from a photo on an adoption flyer. She looked at some other dogs first but felt no connection. She then met Rocky and the connection was immediate, so after 323 days, Rocky went home!

Nevada SPCA also had a couple of long-term dogs go home. Chance, age 11, and Oscar, age 5, both were at the shelter for almost two years. The staff was losing hope because they were continually overlooked, but thanks to Maddie’s Pet Adoption Days, they found homes.

Tike, a tiny kitten found in a storm drain at University of Nevada Las Vegas, was rescued by Nothin’ But Love Cat & Kitten Rescue, Inc. It took nearly three weeks and 10 people to catch Tiki, along with his siblings and mom. They all went to foster homes for temporary care, then were adopted during the event—Tiki was the first adoption of the group!

The adoption event was made possible by Maddie’s Pet Project in Nevada thanks to funding from Dave and Cheryl Duffield Foundation and Maddie's Fund. Their generosity is inspired by their miniature schnauzer Maddie.

Visit maddiespetprojectnevada.org or find us on Facebook at facebook.com/PetProjectNV to learn more about the Nevada campaign.