Out of the Cage! (May 2010)

North Shore Animal League America's Mobile Adoption Units — A Boon to NYC Pet Adoptions

In 1999, North Shore Animal League America's (NSALA) president, John Stevenson, had an idea that would have a deep and lasting impact on pet adoptions in the tri-state area. John's idea — to give municipal shelters a way to get their animals for adoption in front of the public — launched the League's cooperative adoption program.

What started out as a single adoption van carrying dogs and cats from animal control shelters in the tri-state area to points far and wide to meet adopters has evolved into a much broader program that today includes six mobile adoption units that NSALA shares.

In 2004, NSALA began working with the Center for Animal Care & Control in NYC, the same year the organization changed its name to Animal Care & Control of NYC (AC&C). In 2006, Jane Hoffman, President of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals, and Joanne Yohannan, Senior Vice President of Operations at NSALA, wanted to expand this very successful program, and NSALA became part of the Mayor's Alliance. Today, the League not only works with AC&C, but also with dozens of other Alliance Participating Organizations (APOs).

NSALA's cooperative adoption program has been a boon to NYC's pet adoptions. Last year, more than 1,000 dogs and cats were adopted in NYC through the program.

Joanne, who years ago was the Shelter Director at the ASPCA when it handled animal control for the City of New York, says, "I would have been so happy then to have had such a resource available to me." Joanne's comment underscores the tremendous value the adoption vans bring to the rescue organizations that use them.

Many of the organizations that show animals for adoption on the NSALA vans don't have a shelter or permanent adoption location. The vans give these organizations the ability to get their animals out to the public on a regular basis, providing them with visibility in their own communities or at large adoption events like Broadway Barks! in Shubert Alley and this month's Adoptapalooza in Washington Square Park.

NSALA not only provides the vans, but also supplies the drivers and tabling supplies for the groups, as well as newspaper ads that promote the groups appearing on their vans each week.

The NSALA cooperative adoption program reaches far beyond the borders of New York City. Every year, NSALA's Tour for Life travels the nation, taking its lifesaving mission on the road to help find homes for hundreds of homeless dogs and cats, and to raise public awareness about shelter pets.

Since 2001, the tour, in partnership with Purina, has placed thousands of homeless animals with loving families while promoting the importance of adopting shelter animals as a lifesaving measure. This spring, NSALA's Tour for Life stopped in 28 U.S. cities, in its month-long cooperative initiative with animal shelters across the country.

The Mayor's Alliance is grateful to NSALA for its generosity and collaborative spirit that are helping us move that much closer to our collective goal of saving lives.