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WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. Plenty of rescued dogs and cats were adopted Saturday at the third annual Super Adoption Day at the Westchester County Center.
Hosted by Best Friends Animal Society, the County Center floor and side rooms were filled with cages holding dogs, cats and bunnies waiting to find new families. Barbara Williamson, media-relations manager for Best Friends, said the groups goal was to have at least 400 of the 700 animals on hand either adopted or put into rescue groups.
This is a grassroots movement that gets 48 animal shelters together to adopt these pets, Williamson said. A lot of people are leery going to animal shelters because they can be depressing, but we try to create a friendly environment for people and pets so people want to adopt them.
Jamie Lyn Rubin, Best Friends New York City program manager, said the event not only gives people a chance to adopt new pets, but also to meet representatives from animal rescue services.
The rescue groups are getting to know each other, too, Rubin said. They may have chance to swap animals in the future.
Still, Williamson said some people are apprehensive about coming to a pet-adoption event, since they dont know what type of dog they will be getting. Williamson said that about 25 percent of all dogs in rescue services are highly desirable purebreds.
We want to put an end to killing adoptable dogs and cats, Williamson said. We dont think that any of these dogs or cats should be overlooked because they are rescue animals. Its like coming to a shopping mall. You might come in looking for a certain type of cat and leave with a dog.
White Plains resident Clara Arce adopted a dachshund named Jitterbug at the event. Arce said she was looking for a small dog for her daughter and found the right one.
This dog is what our family needs, Arce said. It will be nice to have a pet to see now every morning when we wake up.
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