Out of the Cage! (Winter 2007)
"I Love NYC Pets" Campaign Spurs Robust Adoptions In February
With Valentines on everyone's mind in February, what better time to proclaim as "I Love NYC Pets" month? That's just what the Mayor's Alliance and its member organizations did — creating a month-long pet adoption promotion that resulted in hundreds of dogs and cats from the city's shelters and rescue groups trading their "homeless" status for that of "new member of the family."
The campaign featured more than 50 adoption events throughout the city's five boroughs, and extended adoption hours at NYC's Animal Care & Control (AC&C) shelters, making it that much easier for potential adopters to meet their furry match. What's more, special gift bags filled with product samples and valuable coupons from pet product manufacturers were available to every AC&C adopter in February.
To kick off this first-time-ever adoption celebration in New York, Commerce Bank, a sponsor of "I Love NYC Pets" month, hosted a fun photo op for the press at its branch at Fifth Avenue and 14th Street. Maddie, the lovable Maddie's Fund mascot, joined by NYC icon, Ms. Liberty, and a crew of wonderful dogs for adoption from Animal Care & Control, welcomed the press and posed for some great publicity photos.
To get the word out to New Yorkers in a big way, dogs for adoption from AC&C were joined by Mayor's Alliance and AC&C volunteers in appearances on two morning editions of the CBS Early Show. And Maddie, the Maddie's Fund mascot, made a special appearance on the show.
Maddie joins Ms. Liberty to launch a month-long celebration to promote pet adoptions in New York City.
Other highlights of "I Love NYC Pets" month included special pet adoption events at select Commerce Bank locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. Among the Mayor's Alliance member organizations that took a leading role in the month-long celebration were American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Animal Care & Control of New York City, Animal Haven, Bide-A-Wee, The Humane Society of New York, and the North Shore Animal League — all of which did adoptions from adoption vans outside Commerce Bank branches around the city. Other Alliance Participating Organizations (APOs) that held their own special adoption events in February included A Cause for Paws, Animal Center of Queens, Bobbi and the Strays, City Critters, Companion Animal Network, Husky House, K9Kastle, Loving Touch, NYC Siamese Rescue, NY Pet-I-Care, Only Hope Cat Rescue, Pet Adoption League of New York, Pluto Rescue of Richmond County, and SaveKitty Foundation.
Did New Yorkers come through for its adorable adoptable animals? You bet they did — and hundreds of cats and dogs found new homes as a result! Given the exceptional success of the inaugural "I Love NYC Pets" month, New Yorkers can expect to see more such adoption celebrations in the future, as we move along the road toward a no-kill New York in the foreseeable future.
If you missed out on finding your new four-legged heart-throb in February, don't despair — there are plenty of wonderful dogs and cats awaiting new homes at NYC's shelters. You can meet some of New York's most eligible pets for adoption at an upcoming Mayor's Alliance/Maddie's Pet Adoption Festival, or check out the Petfinder APO Animal Search Module at the bottom of our Adoption page.
