JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Hundreds of animals are now at their fur-ever homes after a massive two-day adoption event in Downtown Jacksonville.
Eleven shelters came together, bringing animals from across Northeast Florida to the Petco Love 'Mega Pet Adoption' event hosted at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds. This was the first time in nearly five years the event was held.
The Jacksonville Humane Society said a whooping 469 animals were adopted during the event, and not one cat was left behind.
"Every cat from every shelter was adopted, and a Duval-sized number of dogs were, too," JHS said in a statement on Facebook.
JHS said with one hour left in the event on Saturday, there had been 234 pets already adopted, which was roughly double the number of adoptions from the day before.
Jacksonville Humane Society Chief Executive Officer Denise Deisler told First Coast News the event makes a big difference as shelters grapple with overcrowding.
"It helps us relieve some of the population in the shelter at what is a very busy time for us," Deisler said.
All the pets taken home during the event were spayed or neutered, vaccinated and microchipped. All the adoptions were free, apart from a possible license fee.
The event didn't reach the goal of 2,000 adoptions in two days, but it still served as a success for hundreds of animals who now are with their fur-ever families.
"Animal shelters work hard every day to help save the lives of the animals in their care, but none of it is possible without you," said JHS. "To everyone who came to this event, you are our heroes."
JHS is still offering free adoptions on Sunday.