It’s a Christmas miracle! All dogs at an animal shelter have been adopted, leaving its staff rejoicing at the numerous empty cells.
Just two weeks ago, the Adams County, Pennsylvania, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in the USA barely had any kennels left for dogs needing a new home.
But in festive news, for the first time in nearly 50 years, the shelter doesn’t have any more dogs left as the four-legged residents are now busy spending the holidays with their new families.
In a post on Facebook published on Friday (December 22), Adams County SPCA said: “Today is a great day for the Adams County SPCA!”
Just two weeks ago, a shelter was almost at capacity, but it is now completely empty
“Two weeks ago our kennels were almost filled, now we don’t have any dogs in the building at all (we have 1 cat that came in as a stray a little bit ago)!!
“Our community stepped up once again! 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 Adams County SPCA shelter adopted out 598 animals, leaving the facility empty for the first time in nearly 50 years
“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!
“This year we have adopted out 598 animals and reunited 125 strays with their owners! WOW! It has been a busy year!
“We thank everyone for their continued support and look forward to new adventures in 2024!”
“To say that we are beyond excited is an understatement! The staff and volunteers have worked VERY hard to take care of the animals,” the shelter said
“We will be pulling animals from other shelters in PA next week in hopes of relieving some of their stress. Right now, we are going to enjoy this accomplishment! Merry Christmas!”
Approximately 6.3 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) said.
The facility will begin taking animals from other shelters “in hopes of relieving some of their stress”
Of those abandoned pets, approximately 3.1 million are dogs and 3.2 million are cats.
“We estimate that the number of dogs and cats entering U.S. shelters annually has declined from approximately 7.2 million in 2011,” the ASPCA stated. “The biggest decline was in dogs (from 3.9 million to 3.1 million).”