FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 2, 2005

Media Contact: Janet Bennett
            (916) 337-2542


65 ANIMALS (AND MORE) FIND HOMES AT FALL 2005 SUPER ADOPTION

SACRAMENTO, CA - Sixty-five homeless animals got a new leash on life at the Fall 2005 Super Adoption - and more will be adopted in the days to come.

This two-day pet adoption event, held Saturday, September 24, and Sunday, September 25, at the Country Club Plaza Mall, helped match people and pets together.  Over half of the animals participating in the event - dogs, cats, birds, a rabbit, and a hamster - were adopted to loving homes.

The event was sponsored by No More Homeless Pets (NMHP) in Sacramento County, a coalition of local animal shelters, rescue groups, and concerned individuals.

The animals came from Sacramento, Placer, and Yolo county animal shelters and rescue agencies to meet potential adopters.  On several occasions, large crowds of people were gathered around the animals, anxious to adopt a new pet into their homes.

"It was so heartwarming to see so many animals get homes, including several adults and some hard-to-place animals," says Sacramento's NMHP President, Janet Bennett. "This event was an absolute lifesaver for so many of these pets.  In addition, we've already adopted 4 more pets to people who saw them at the Super Adoption."

One of the animal rescue groups was especially thrilled with the number of adoptions, due to recent declines in adoptions.  Friends for Life volunteer, Michelle Brown, pledged to attend every future Super Adoption event due to the overwhelming success of 12 cats being adopted over the weekend.  In addition, the City of Sacramento Animal Care Services and Yolo County SPCA each adopted 14 animals apiece and have more adoptions pending.  "We pay each organization $15 for their first adoption and $5 for every subsequent adoption," says Bennett, "It's our way of supporting their efforts and saying 'Thank you'."

In addition to meeting the animals, Gina Spadafori, Sacramento Bee columnist and author of "Dogs for Dummies," "Cats for Dummies," and "Birds for Dummies," was on site to sell autographed books.  Donations were collected for the pets rescued from Hurricane Katrina.  Money raised will be used towards delivering much-needed pet food to the victims' pets.

"The volunteers were ecstatic with this weekend's success," says Bennett. "Seeing these animals go to good homes is the best gift of all.  We continue to surpass the number of adoptions made each year and can't wait to start planning for the Spring 2006 Super Adoption."

For additional information about No More Homeless Pets in Sacramento County, visit www.nmhpsacto.org.

Citing a desire to end euthanasia as a means of pet population control in Sacramento County, a coalition of traditional shelters, animal control agencies, rescue organizations, veterinarians, and concerned individuals have come together to form the Sacramento County chapter of No More Homeless Pets (NMHP), modeled after the NMHP movement first started in Utah by Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.

Sacramento Area Animal Coalition
Working Together to Save Animal Lives
On the web at www.sacanimal.org