An animal shelter in Pennsylvania proved that Christmas miracles do happen, and celebrated after adopting out of all its animals over the Christmas festive period.
The walls inside of the Adams County SPCA kennels were echoing with silence (in a good way!) as no furry pets had to spend Christmas inside its facilities. Just two weeks prior to this their kennels were completely full of rescue dogs and cats.
“This is the first time in 47 YEARS that the Adams County SPCA is empty let alone at Christmas time, it is a true miracle!” the organization wrote on their Facebook page. “To say that we are beyond excited is an understatement! The staff and volunteers have worked VERY hard to take care of the animals in our care and to make sure they got adopted to the right home!”
The shelter found new owners for 94 animals and have returned 26 strays to their owners since Nov 1 2023. SPCA Adams Country’s Facebook page also shared some of their most recent adoption stories and photos with their followers. One such post was of a family that adopted a cat named Bootsie! The ginger feline was brought into the family fold and helped their four-year-old autistic daughter Hope:
“Hope cuddles Bootsie when she’s upset instead of having full blown meltdowns, cuddles him and practices her verbal expressions of compassion, love and affection. Thank you so much for all you do!”
Since declaring themselves animal-free, the shelter has received an overwhelming response from other shelters as far afield as Canada and Mexico and members of the public wanting them to take their animals. Due to the overwhelming amount of animals in their own community in need of help, the shelter has had to focus on the animals in their own county.
The shelter is only taking animals surrendered by residents within the county as well as surrounding counties and any “overwhelmed shelters” in Pennsylvania.
“We are going to do the best we can to help as many animals and people we can,” the Adams County SPCA wrote.
Many animals are currently in need of a home. The ASPCA estimates that there are 6.3 million animals that enter shelters every year, which is split almost evenly between cats and dogs. With 4.1 million animals adopted each year, many animals are unfortunately put to sleep. Consider adopting a shelter animal!
