ATLANTA — Atlanta's Lifeline Animal Project is holding a major free adoption event this weekend to mark its 20th anniversary, and the organization said it could not come at a better time with shelter populations surging partly due to COVID.
The free adoptions will be available across four days - starting tomorrow, Friday Feb. 4 and running through Monday.
Adoptions can be made at any of the shelter's three locations:
- Fulton County Animal Services: 860 Marietta Blvd. NW, Atlanta
- DeKalb County Animal Services: 3280 Chamblee Dunwoody Rd., Chamblee
- Lifeline Community Animal Center: 3180 Presidential Dr., Atlanta
Heather Friedman, Lifeline Animal Project's chief marketing officer, told 11Alive's Dalia Perez that the 20th-anniversary adoption event is extra important because of the strain shelters are currently feeling.
She said that currently, the Fulton County facility has 221 dogs when an ideal number would be around 150, while the DeKalb County facility has 478 dogs when the capacity is usually around 218.
The anniversary, she said, "couldn't have come at a more important time... we really need our community support."
"The shelters are not usually this full in January," she said. "This is really uncommon and we're seeing it across the nation. A lot of shelters are struggling right now, so we really want to encourage our community to come on out. If they have been considering adopting a pet, it would really be a wonderful time to bring an animal home."
In addition to adoption fees being waived this weekend, the shelter has covered all costs of spaying and neutering animals, getting them microchipped and getting them their vaccinations. Those interested in bringing a pet home can also use the occasion to foster an animal.
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The event, which is being sponsored by the Petco Love nonprofit, will also include gift bags for the first 20 adopters at all three of Lifeline's locations.
Friedman said shelter intake - the number of animals coming in - has increased over last year by 12 percent, and the shelters have also struggled with staff shortages.
"We have a situation where more animals are coming into our shelters every day than are leaving," she said.
She also wanted to encourage people who find lost pets not to immediately turn to shelters - to work to the extent they can to locate the owners.
"Most pets are currently found within a mile of their homes, so we encourage neighbors to take a picture and post it to Nextdoor, to social media, to really try to reunite those pets with their families before having them enter the shelters, which are already filled to capacity," she said.
Friedman directed anyone who loses or finds a pet to the Lifeline website for resources and help on what to do.