Wayside Waifs offering pet adoptions for only $25 through Sunday
.png "Some of the adoptable pets from Wayside Waifs that are available for $25 include: Leonardo (top-left), a 5-month-old male mixed breed dog; Bell (top-right), a 2-month-old domestic shorthair cat; Kiara Jane (bottom-left), a 6-year-old domestic shorthair cat; and Bridget (bottom-right), a 2-month-old female hound.")
All adoptions at Wayside Waifs cost $25 this week until Sunday, courtesy of a partnership with Hill’s Pet Nutrition.
While it isn’t the first time they’ve done an adoption promotion, this event is being “powered up” by Hill’s to support the needs of all the homeless animals in the shelter, said Casey Waugh, communications and annual giving manager.
“We’re really celebrating the bond between pets and people, and Hills Pet Nutrition wanted to help us do that,” said Waugh.
The shelter is hoping the promotion will help them find forever homes for hundreds of homeless dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens.
“While Wayside Waifs is a wonderful place and amazing things happen here, it’s not a home, and we want them all to be comfortable with their families, you know, snuggling on the couch, playing in the backyard, all of those kinds of things,” Waugh said.
Waugh reminds potential adopters to forgo the stigma that homeless pets are “broken.” Having a rough history doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s something wrong with the animal, she said.
“A lot of these animals have no families, and it’s not their fault whatsoever,” she said.
The shelter works with the animals, not just medically, but also behaviorally, to acclimate them into a life where they don’t have to scrounge for food, said Waugh.
Sometimes they’ve had puppies who haven’t seen grass or sunlight. The shelter prepares the animals to encounter things the animals have never experienced or seen that are common in homes to avoid anxiousness or outbursts, she said.
“We really prepare these pets for their future lives with their forever families,” said Waugh. “We want this to be the best fit for the pet and the people adopting. We want to set everyone up for success, so we’re making them as adoptable as possible.”
The perfect match
Wayside Waifs currently has a full shelter due to the high number of homeless animals, said Waugh.
The shelter takes in animals locally, but also, due to donor support, they work with rural shelters, which often aren’t in communities with potential adopters. They also help break up illegal puppy mills and similar businesses across the nation, which are commercial animal breeding operations that have poor conditions.
The adoption process can be started from home, Waugh said. By visiting their website, the bios and photos of all the adoptable animals can be seen.
Then, with a visit to the shelter, adopters can visit their potential match and get questions answered by a meet-and-greet counselor. After completing the paperwork, the animal can be taken home the same day.
It’s a great opportunity to adopt a pet, Waugh said, since the $25 fee covers all medical care the animal has already had, including vaccinations, microchips, and more.
“This is going to be amazing for the animals here at Wayside. We know that many of them are going to find homes,” she said.
