Humane Society of the Ohio Valley: Kia Pet Adoption Grant Report

How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?

This grant saved us. Like many shelters this year, we were full and intake was not slowing down. Going into summer and our busiest intake season, we were scared. We began dragging floor crates out to house dogs because our kennels were all full. Our hearts were heavy. We have had adoption specials before, they just don't bring a lot of adopters during the summer months.

We got word that we had been approved for $4,500 to help with adoption costs. We quickly launched a $20 adoption promotion for all altered dogs who could leave the same day. The adopters heard our pleas, and families came to meet our dogs!

Our dogs got adopted, our staff was happy and less stressed, and our board and director were happy with the increased adoptions with no financial ramifications. Win-win-win! We are very grateful for your help!

How many pets did this grant help?

78

Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.

In March, a senior German shepherd mix (first photo) with a lot of scars came into our shelter as a stray. He had scabs and skin issues that caused him to smell bad no matter how many medicated baths and vet visits he had.

Despite his painful skin problems, the dog, whom we named Delgado, was very sweet. Staff and volunteers loved him, but feared that no one would want a stinky, senior shepherd. We didn’t know that fate was about to intervene.

A woman several states away in Georgia had just lost her beloved shepherd. She saw Delgado on Petfinder and knew she had to have him to mend her broken heart. She applied, was approved, and drove 10 hours, having never met him in person, to pick him up (second photo).

“Hi Delgado,” she wrote on Facebook the day before her road trip. “I am more than excited to adopt you and cannot wait to bring you home on Thursday. I will give you all the love, cuddles, kisses, and care you deserve!” When she arrived at the shelter, she presented Delgado with a huge basket of new belongings.

Delgado “pranced” out the front door and immediately hopped into her car. Cincinnati is four hours from our shelter and featured a story about the adoption!

Another great story was Fred and George (third photo). These two brothers came in as strays and turned on each other. They fought in the shelter environment and had to be separated. Staff worried they might not be adopted as “only dogs.” They were adopted as a bonded pair and returned for fighting violently.

Luckily, their combination of corgi and basset hound made them adorable and two families came forward quickly to adopt each. Both boys now live peacefully with other dogs, and have no issues. (Fred is pictured in his new home the fourth and fifth photos; George is in the sixth and seventh.)

The adoption special is what brought both families in, saving Fred and George from loneliness and stress in a full shelter.