Adoption overachievers: Dallas Animal Services and Adoption Center
What is animal shelter staff to do when they’re faced with an average of 75 pets coming in every day? That’s the challenge facing Dallas Animal Services and Adoption Center in Dallas, Texas.
Dallas Animal Services and Adoption Center
The shelter has lots of programs that help, such as free or low-cost spay/neuter to prevent more puppies and kittens from being born. But the bottom line is this: Once a pet comes through their doors, they’ve got to work quickly to find that pet a new home.
That’s where Best Friends is helping not only Dallas Animal Services, but many more shelters around the country. Dallas Animal Services has worked hard to become overachievers in adoptions, and that’s a very good thing.
No More Homeless Pets Network partners
Dallas Animal Services is a Best Friends No More Homeless Pets Network partner, meaning they’ve joined a network of shelters and rescue groups working with Best Friends to end the killing of pets in our nation’s shelters.
And that’s made a world of difference in the number of pets they’ve found homes for. As a Network partner, the shelter can get help from Best Friends through grants, fundraising and marketing help, access to free webinars, consultation with Best Friends staff and — of course — adoptions.
Dr. Catherine McManus, Dallas Animal Services director, says, “We’re here every day to get these animals into homes. With the Network resources, we’re doing it more efficiently.”
Shining a spotlight on hard-to-place pets
When people are excited about heading to the shelter to adopt a new pet, it saves a lot of lives. That’s why Best Friends has designed adoption promotions to share with Network partners. Groups can take the marketing ideas and run with them to find homes for more pets.
Michelle Logan, No More Homeless Pets Network supervisor, says, “The Network adoption promotions shine a spotlight on the hardest-to-place pets, like seniors, cats and big dogs. National advertising, word of mouth and lower adoption fees all help these pets find homes.”
Dallas Animal Services took part in several adoption promotions throughout the year, such as Back in Black (spotlighting black and mostly black pets), 9 Lives for $9 (offering cat adoptions for just $9) and “The One” (for Valentine’s Day). And the Dallas public responded in a big way.
And the win goes to …
In fact, in 2014 the shelter found homes for more pets through these promotions than any other Network partner. In all, 1,007 Dallas Animal Services pets went home through the promotions.
For their efforts, the shelter received an award at the Best Friends National Conference in July. As the municipal shelter to place the most pets through promotions, they were given the No Place Like Home Award.
Michelle says, “They really embrace the Network and jumped on-board to take advantage of all that’s offered. And they’re also bringing awareness to what municipal shelters can do. Hopefully other shelters will see what they’ve done and think, ‘We could do that, too.’”
Catherine says, “It was awesome to receive the award and be appreciated. Municipal shelters don’t always get that recognition and it was wonderful to get a pat on the back for all the hard work.”
Of course, it’s not about the award. What matters is that each shelter pet is now happy in a new home. “It feels great to work with a national organization like Best Friends to help save more lives; every one of our animals deserves it,” says Catherine. “We look forward to saving even more.”
Get involved
- Be a part of the good news by giving a gift to Best Friends. You'll be helping our No More Homeless Pets Network partners, too.
- Learn more about the No More Homeless Pets Network.
- Find a Best Friends–supported adoption promotion at a shelter or rescue group near you.
About the No More Homeless Pets Network
Best Friends’ No More Homeless Pets Network comprises more than 1,000 animal welfare groups from every single state, all working to save the lives of pets in their own communities. Ranging from animal shelters and rescue groups to spay/neuter and trap/neuter/return (TNR) organizations, they collaborate with Best Friends to save even more lives in every corner of the country. Best Friends provides marketing help, fundraising events, information and webinars, guidance, grants and more so that, together, we can Save Them All.
Photos courtesy of Dallas Animal Services and Adoption Center