This Weekend, Over 60 Helen Woodward Animal Center Orphan Puppies Get the Mardi Started…
Rancho Santa Fe, CA (February 17, 2023) – Potential adopters are invited to meet the PAW-tiers on Helen Woodward Animal Center’s BourBONE Street this weekend – Saturday & Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This weekend, over 60 available orphan pups are celebrating their arrival to Helen Woodward Animal Center, Doggie Gras-style. The adorable canines, of all shapes and sizes, have traveled from highly-impacted shelters across the country and know that their opportunity to find a forever home is the very best reason to “mardi it up.” Center team members and puppies threw an impromptu PAWrade down to the kennels where potential adoptees can meet a new furry family member, sure to be the life of the PAWty.
In previous years, Helen Woodward Animal Center has thrown a public Doggie Gras Parade, inviting families, doggie alumni, and Mardi Gras-fans to bedeck beloved pets in festive attire and create pet-stroller floats, awarding prizes to the most creative attendees. This year, however, the Center has a more important reason to celebrate.
Shelters from coast-to-coast are in desperate need of help, reporting larger numbers of puppies abandoned than seen in many years. The country’s recent economic challenges are causing individuals to relinquish pets, unable to handle the added monthly expenses of food and vet bills. Additionally, the COVID pandemic’s lasting effects can be seen in the enormous number of puppy births, increasing exponentially due to largely decreased number of spays and neuters performed in 2020 and 2021.
“It’s been years since we’ve seen anything quite like this,” explained Helen Woodward Pet Acquisition Manager LaBeth Thompson. “Everyone I speak to is desperate for help. They just have too many animals and no place to put them. I’ve received thank you letters from shelter partners telling us that getting the pups to the Center is keeping them from being euthanized. It’s heartbreaking and we’re doing everything we can to help.”
In answer to the pleas, Helen Woodward Animal Center is bringing in large numbers of animals weekly, in an effort to save lives. This week, puppies arrived from as far away as Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma and while over 60 will be available for adoption, another 50 will wait with Center foster families for kennels to open up, and another 80 are on a waiting list to be transferred to the Center next week. The saving of these lives is a true reason to rejoice and doing it Doggie Gras-style amps up the celebration in a wonderful way.
“We hope the community will consider checking out the pups on Helen Woodward Animal Center’s BourBONE Street this weekend,” continued Thompson. “Of course, they’ll just be waiting to meet you in the Center kennels, but don’t tell them that. The pups seem to know they’re at the festive first stop of their PAWrade, concluding in a home that will give them a lifetime of reasons to celebrate.”
Animal-lovers not in the market for a new pet can still assist Helen Woodward Animal Center by donating or becoming a foster. Foster families provide the home and the loving care and Helen Woodward Animal Center provides everything else, including bedding, food, and more. Additionally, a full-time medical team, available during business hours, and an after-hours staff member, are all part of the team surrounding Center fosters to make sure they have everything they need. To apply to be a Helen Woodward Animal Center foster, please log onto: http://animalcenter.org/get-involved/volunteer/foster
Over 60 orphan puppies, along with adult cats and dogs, will be available this weekend. Potential adopters can check the website for hour-by-hour availability. To donate or for more information on available orphan pets at Helen Woodward Animal Center, please contact the Adoptions Department at: 858-756-4117 ext. 1, or visit www.animalcenter.org.
(Helen Woodward Animal Center staff members PAWraded into the kennels with over 60 orphan pups, celebrating the opportunity to meet loving families this weekend.)
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