spcaLAIf adoption fees were a reason stopping you from re-homing a pet this Christmas, worry no more, because a kindhearted rescue centre in Los Angles are waving all their adoption fees this Saturday.
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles (spcaLA) based in Southern California are scrapping their adoption fees on December 14th in the hope of it helping the 200 animals they have in their care find a forever home in time for Christmas.
While the majority of animals looking for for a home are cats, dogs, puppies or kittens, there are also 10 rabbits and two guinea pigs available to be loved too.
PexelsSome would think making the animals free to adopt would make them easy for people to return, but the charity has actually found on previous occasions where they’ve scrapped their adoption fees for the day, the pets adopted are less likely to be returned.
Some of the longer term residents at the rescue centre desperately waiting for a family are seven-year-old chonk, Mango and eight-year-old dog, Champ.
Mango has been with the spcaLA for a year and a half, and the team at the centre feel due to her having a black fur coat, she gets overlooked compared to her other furry friends also looking to be adopted.
The team at the centre described Mango – a domestic short hair – who still has ‘plenty of years of love to give’, saying to UNILAD:
Mango has been with spcaLA since July 7, 2018, so she’s been here about a year and a half. She’s a healthy, happy cat, but there are two challenging things: her fur is black and she is a little bit older. Animals with all black fur are typically overlooked in a shelter, as people tend to gravitate towards more colourful coats, but anyone with a black cat will tell you they are the best!
At seven years old, she still has plenty of years of love and companionship to give. Mango loves to ‘make biscuits’ or knead with her paws and she really enjoys relaxing on the cat tree in the cattery with her feline friends. She (and we!) are patiently waiting for her people or person to come in and meet her.
PexelsThere’s also the goodest of good boys, Champ – a German shepherd mix – who’s desperately looking for a fur-ever home too. He’s been at the adoption centre since August 2018.
Here’s how the team describe ‘cool customer’, Champ:
Champ’s challenge is that he’s older, also larger (he is a big dog, about 80 pounds), but he is a friendly, tolerant dog, but he can come across as aloof to first-timer visitors. Some dogs immediately solicit attention or affection from strangers or people they are meeting for the first time. Champ is more of a cool customer who needs time to develop interest in a human and this can be a turn-off for people who seek instantaneous bonding.
Champ enjoys spending time with his human friends that he knows and is comfortable with. He has received an extensive amount of attention from the spcaLA Training Department and as a result knows several obedience commands and has participated in many enrichment activities.
He gets along with other dogs of his size and temperament, but would prefer a home without small animals or cats. Champ loves squeaky toys and would be great with an active person or family with older kids who is willing to give Champ a chance!
If those descriptions don’t make you want to book a flight to L.A. to save those two precious souls, then you obviously have a heart of stone.
PexelsSpcaLA President, Madeline Bernstein also added:
Every year around the holidays, we do a push to promote pet adoptions. This year was different. Kitten season never ended. We had several complicated cruelty cases that left us caring for animals who have been abused and neglected. We have more animals, and they’ve been through a lot. We thought – what else could we do to give these pets the gift of a home?
*Books flight to LA to adopt all 200 animals*.
If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via [email protected]
Niamh Shackleton is a pint sized person and journalist at UNILAD. After studying Multimedia Journalism at the University of Salford, she did a year at Caters News Agency as a features writer in Birmingham before deciding that Manchester is (arguably) one of the best places in the world, and therefore moved back up north. She’s also UNILAD’s unofficial crazy animal lady.