“They have no idea how life-saving their efforts really are,” she said.ĭeConna adopted both of her pets: one from Gainesville Pet Rescue, the other on her third day of work at the Humane Society - a one-eyed tabby cat she “fell in love with immediately.” She said people often assume her job working with homeless pets is a dismal one, but she disagrees. Volunteers who foster kitten litters or donate supplies to the shelters during peak “kitten season” in the late spring and summer alleviate some of the stress and prevent euthanasia, she said. “People here are more about adopting animals than saying, ‘Hey, let’s get a purebred shepherd.’”Īlachua County Animal Services runs the only open-intake shelter in the community, where residents can surrender animals or drop off strays, DeConna said. “Alachua County is a very adoption-friendly place,” he said. Last year’s event at the Butler Plaza store saw 375 pets adopted. The Gainesville store averages 40-45 adoptions per week, but the weekend event draws the biggest turnout, store manager Mark Frantz said. PetSmart, between Best Buy and Trader Joe's on Archer Road, facilitated more adoptions than any store in the chain across the nation, DeConna said. While the rescue groups hold smaller free adoption events throughout the year and waive fees for pets over a certain age or those with medical issues, the Pet Adoption Days are the only time the groups do free adoptions at the same time. “I know there’s a dog or cat with a really tremendous life story,” she said.
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