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Adoption Drive Saves 250 Pets

by Lisa L. Colangelo, New York Daily News City Hall Bureau

Tuesday, February 3, 2004

New Yorkers adopted more than 250 stray cats and dogs over the weekend, emptying cages at city shelters and allowing for a two-day moratorium on putting animals to sleep.

Every year, the city is forced to euthanize tens of thousands of unwanted dogs and cats. But Ed Boks, executive director of New York City Animal Care and Control, said a media campaign to find homes for pets unleashed the city's compassion.

"This was extraordinary in every way," said Boks, who credited the Daily News for helping get the message out. "We've never adopted out this many animals in a weekend period. The response of the community was breathtaking."

Recent News stories have highlighted the plight of overburdened shelters. Cold weather compounded the problem, because fewer people were venturing out to the shelters, officials said.

But with the weather improving and the agency's message getting out, New Yorkers adopted 246 dogs and cats this past weekend. Forty more were saved by rescue groups that are members of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals.

Animal Care and Control's three facilities — the only city-contracted shelters required to take in all stray animals — handle almost 50,000 strays a year. Almost 30,000 wind up getting euthanized.

Boks, who took over the beleaguered agency last year, has made it his mission to turn it into a "no kill" shelter system over the next few years.

The best way to tame overcrowding in the shelters is to spay and neuter as many animals as possible, Boks said.

"We do realize we're not going to adopt our way out of this problem," he said.

Copyright © 2004 Daily News, L.P.