Local animal shelter wins $25,000 in national contest
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IDAHO FALLS — Snake River Animal Shelter has been recognized for it efforts to save the lives of orphaned pets during the holiday season.
The shelter won the grand prize of $25,000 in the Home 4 the Holidays contest. It’s the first time an Idaho shelter has won the national contest meant to bring awareness to pet adoption.
“We are deeply honored to be recognized for our staff’s efforts to get orphaned pets into permanent homes. Our management team worked long hours and our staff was available seven days a week during the holidays for adoption appointments to remove as many barriers as possible for potential adopters,” Executive Director Michelle Ziel-Dingman said in a news release.
Home 4 the Holidaysis a three‐month adoption drive that encourages people to choose pet adoption over puppy mills and backyard breeders, according to its website. The program strives to save pets by educating the public about the importance of choosing adoption through new and innovative promotional strategies.
Over 4,000 rescues and shelters participated in 2023, each with different approaches to encourage adoptions. SRAS’s approach to increase adoptions was multi-faceted. Employees and volunteers highlighted dogs in need of homes through events, social media, promotions, media coverage, community outreach, partnerships and shelter operations.
“We made the calculated decision to focus a little more heavily on canine adoptions, as our feline adoptions are steady,” Ziel-Dingman said. “The list of dogs waiting to get into the facility was well over 100 in early October 2023.”
According to Nora Paech of Snake River Animal Shelter, the shelter had to submit weekly adoption numbers, as well as a report about how they promoted adoptions and each event or promotion was received by the community. The shelter increased its cat adoptions by about 53 percent and dog adoptions by about 40 percent during the month of December 2023.
SRAS’s Home 4 the Holidays Program included a range of activities along with a unique “Home for the Holidays” event calendar shared with the community.
The three most successful programs were the 36-Hour Adopt-a-Thon, the Thanksgiving “Canine Turkey Tester” program (which put dogs into foster homes during the Thanksgiving holiday) and the “Here Comes Santa Claws” extended cat adoption sale.
‘A home for the holiday.’ Animal shelter to hold 36-hour Adopt-a-Thon for dogs, cats starting Friday
“One of our biggest expenses is veterinary expenses,” Paech said, noting that SRAS is funded entirely by grants and donations. “That $25,000 will likely help with that.”
“$25,000 will be an incredible boost to our resources for long-term planning and ensuring our rescue facility is available to serve for many years to come. On behalf of our Board of Directors, donors and staff, we are grateful to be selected,” Ziel-Dinman said.
For the contest, SRAS held private appointments during their closed days – Sunday through Tuesday – and didn’t have one day in December without a completed adoption, adoption hold or meaningful customer visit, according to the news release. The shelter has chosen to continue this practice, making appointments available seven days a week. Appointments can be booked by calling (208) 523-4219 or sending Snake River Animal Shelter a message on their Facebook page.
For more information about Snake River Animal Shelter, visit the shelter’s website.
