Adoption Day At Mt Pleasant Animal Hospital

By laurie Borst

It was Adoption Day on Sunday, September 10, at the Mt Pleasant Hospital for Animals. A number of animal advocate groups gathered to promote responsible dog ownership and animal adoption.

Canine Advocates of Newtown, The Animal Center, and Greyhound Rescue were on hand with pets in search of good homes. A “Canine Good Citizen Test” could be taken. Home Again microchipping was available. Grooming demonstrations were given. Information could be found on pet therapy partners.

The Ecology Club from Newtown High School had a raffle table set up with baskets of pet goodies as prizes. Volunteers barbecued, what else?, hot dogs at the food tent.

The Animal Center of Newtown had five young kittens and two older cats for adoption. The Animal Center takes in strays and other cats that are in need of homes, gets them vet care, if needed, and works to place them with aelurophiles. It also has a feral cat program where members trap feral cats, get them vet care, and have them spayed/neutered, before returning them to the wild.

Canine Advocates brought three Katrina dogs. Lucy, Sadie, and Pagan were all a bit timid, which is understandable. They have been in foster care for over a year now, and no one knows what kind of traumas they may have suffered after Hurricane Katrina destroyed their homes. Each is waiting to join a loving family.

Greyhound Rescue brought four former racers to meet visitors. Floyd, 2½ -year-old, had his back leg in a cast. He had broken it three weeks before during a race. Greyhound owner Dawn Adams said it costs the rescue group about $5,000 to fix a dog’s broken leg. This is done entirely through donations from the public.

Abby, 4½ years old, has become a therapy dog. She visits residents at Ashlar on Toddy Hill. She also came in third a couple years ago in the King and Queen Dog Contest, which was sponsored by The Newtown Bee. Ginger is another greyhound who has been adopted and is currently in training to become a therapy dog.

Falcon, 13 years old, sporting a Harley-Davidson hat, showed lots of interest in passersby. He has been with Bobbi Nelson, a member of Greyhound Rescue, for eight years.

Ask a greyhound owner about the dogs and you will get a glowing report: They don’t bark. They have a single-layer coat so they shed very little. Contrary to popular belief, they don’t need a lot of exercise.

“They run twice a week in one 30-second race. If you want to jog with your greyhound, you would have to train them for it,” said Dawn Adams. “They are quiet dogs, actually very catlike. They like to curl up and sleep.”

About 40 greyhounds have been placed with families in Newtown, according to Ms Adams.

Perhaps the star of the afternoon was Pompom, the Pomeranian discovered two months ago with severe burns. He pranced around on his leash, delighting in the attention he was receiving. While his back still showed the obvious injuries he suffered, his energy level was high and his eyes bright.

For more information about these organizations, visit the following websites: theanimalcenter.org, greyhoundrescuerehab.org, and canineadvocates.org.