‘A home for the holiday.’ Animal shelter to hold 36-hour Adopt-a-Thon for dogs, cats starting Friday
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IDAHO FALLS — A 9-year-old dog named Karma has been one of the longest residents at a local animal shelter. She’s stayed there for over three months, and employees hope an event kicking off Friday will help her, along with other animals, get adopted.
Karma was surrendered to the Snake River Animal Shelter after her family was in a housing crisis. They tried to keep her but had to make the hard decision to give her up. Click here to learn more about her.
According to the shelter, she has been there for a total of 96 days.
“I think in the last three months, we have seen adoptions slow down,” said Snake River Animal Shelter Development Director Nora Paech. “Our average length of stay for animals at the shelter is between 14 and 20 days.”
The animal shelter will give the community an opportunity to “give the gift of a new life to orphaned pets.” Paech says they will be holding the first-ever 36-hour Adopt-a-Thon, which is a three-day event.
“Our aim is to try to find every animal in our shelter a home for the holiday,” Paech said.
The shelter will be open with extended hours from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“We thought maybe if we offered something special, more people would come, and if we also open our hours so people could come after work, it will really make adoption more accessible,” she said.
According to a news release from the Snake River Animal Shelter, 2023 has been a challenging year for shelters and rescues nationwide. Pet adoptions are down 2% from 2022, while intakes of stray and surrendered animals remain at an all-time high.
As of Thursday, Paech said there are currently 19 dogs and 47 cats at the shelter. There are 84 cats and 69 dogs on the waitlist. They are waiting to be rehomed through the shelter.
For the Adopt-a-Thon, every adopter will receive a special gift bag of pet supplies. Each day will feature something fun, like treats and cocoa. Then, on Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., anyone can bring their own pets for pet photos with “Santa Paws.”
There are reduced prices this weekend, too, for adoptions. Check below to see the offers.
As for Karma, her adoption fee has been sponsored, meaning it was paid for by a generous donor, and the adopter won’t have to pay.
Everyone is invited to come this weekend.
“We want to try and serve as many animals as possible,” Paech said.