North Olympic Peninsula animal shelters found homes for four dogs and seven cats during a statewide animal shelter open house last weekend.
Eight animals were adopted from the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society in Port Angeles and three from the Humane Society of Jefferson County shelter in Port Townsend.
Statewide, 417 animals were adopted during the Oct. 3 Pawsitive Alliance Pet Adoption Blitz.
Pawsitive Alliance, a volunteer organization in Kenmore, had said it had a goal of finding homes for 400 animals statewide in a single day.
Seven cats and a dog were adopted from the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society, located at 2105 U.S. Highway 101, west of Port Angeles, said Mary Beth Wegener, executive director.
Satellite center
Five of the felines were kittens adopted last Saturday and Sunday from the humane society’s satellite adoption center at Petco in Sequim, Wegener said.
Kittens and dogs are available at Petco from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays; several resident cats are available for adoption during hours at the store, located at 1205 W. Washington St.
In a typical weekend, five or six animals are adopted, Wegener said.
The Humane Society of Jefferson County, located at 112 Critter Lane in Port Townsend, found homes for three of the shelter’s five dogs, and a fourth dog went to its new home a few days later, said Devon Carney, shelter manager.
None of the shelter’s three cats was adopted, Carney said.
The shelter typically does not allow dogs to go home the same day as the application is made to ensure the dog is going to the right family, Carney said.
The only remaining adoptable dog in the shelter is Pete, a 5-year-old shepherd-bull terrier mix.
No other adoptable animals are at the Jefferson County shelter.
Looking ahead
The statewide adoption event wasn’t as effective for the Clallam County-based shelter as organizers had hoped, but Wegener said she thinks next year, it should be much better because the group will be operating out of a larger shelter.
The Clallam County humane society is planning to move into its new $1.43 million, 9-acre facility at 1743 Old Olympic Highway in late January. The new place will offer more room and a more open, more inviting atmosphere, she said.
The new 5,500-square-foot dog building has 40 indoor-outdoor kennels, a grooming area and adoption rooms, and is designed for an additional wing of kennels to be constructed as needed.
The current 2,900-square-foot shelter has 28 indoor-only kennels with disconnected outdoor runs and a small cat room.
Wegener said two factors worked against greater success at Saturday’s adoption event.
The current shelter did not have room to hold the open house events that would have brought more people in, and the weather was beautiful, drawing people to enjoy outdoor activities, she said.
The shelter cares for most types of small animals and on Thursday housed 145 adoptable animals, including gerbils, finches, rabbits, chickens, dogs and cats.
Adoption fees for the animals vary according to the species and age, and the fee covers a portion of the cost of treatment and care the animals received.
Puppies are relatively rare at the shelter, Wegener said.
The kitten population was low this year compared with most years, and there were few reports of people finding stray litters of kittens, she said.
Wegener said there are kittens available for adoption, but not in the overwhelming numbers of the past.
“All of the efforts to spay and neuter are paying off,” she said.
For more information about the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society, phone 360-457-8206 or visit the website at www.ophumanesociety.org.
For more information about the Humane Society of Jefferson County, phone 360-385-3292 or visit the website at www.hsjcwa.org.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
