Shelter Animals Find Homes For The Holidays

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) – Millions of dogs and cats will spend the holidays in an animal shelter.  But here in the east dozens of animals will be going to a new home.

Pitt County Animal Shelter manager Michele Whaley says she can’t remember a time she has had so few animals up for adoption.

"This last week was one of our busiest weeks ever and we usually do pick up some traffic around the holidays but I dont ever remember it being this busy,” she said.

In the past week people came by to adopt 34 animals. Whaley says this is a good problem to have.

"In the adoptable section we have 32 big dog runs and 6 puppy cages. I mean, there's times that every run is full. There's times that we have more than one animal in a run. So to have only 14 in the big dog runs that's huge. I mean that's not even 50% capacity,” she said.

So why are so many people choosing to adopt now more than ever? For one, it is the holiday season. And for many people they say it’s simply worth it -even if that means putting out a little extra cash this season.

"I asked for one dog for either christmas, anniversary or birthday and i got one for each,” said Shawn Cannon.

She and her husband Chris Cannon originally went to the shelter to get two dogs last week but then they found another one they couldn’t resist.

"The more I thought about Josh, we went over to Petsmart the other day and he was in there and we ended up bringing him home,” Chris said.

Michelle Whaley says one reason people are adopting so many animals is because the shelter has partnered with businesses to get the word out.

'Sometimes people just cant handle coming to the shelter. It makes them sad to see so many animals so if we can take a few out and give them homes then we're glad to do so,” she said.

No matter the reason, the Cannons say they’re just happy to give their dogs a chance to have a forever home.

If you are thinking about getting somebody a pet for Christmas, you may want to get a gift certificate to the shelter instead. You can also donate to the shelter in honor of a loved one.

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GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) – The Pitt County Animal Shelter partnered with Greenville Subaru Saturday as part of the “Share the Love Campaign”

For every car that is sold during the campaign Subaru will donate $250.00 to a worthy charity, including the ASPCA. Dogs of all shapes and sizes were on site for immediate adoption from 10am to 4pm.

Pitt County Animal Shelter director Michelle Whaley says more people are adopting now than ever.

"We have had an amazing week. I've been in this position for 9 years. We'vnever had the shelter as empty as it is which is a good problem to have,” she said.

Shelter officials are hoping to adopt out every dog and have an empty shelter by Christmas.