Holiday Pet Adoption Campaign Saves Many Lives

by Steve Dale

Iams Home 4 the Holidays is arguably the most successful pet adoption campaign in history. Within the past decade, over 3 million pets have been adopted through the program. The goal this year is 1.5 million pets adopted into forever homes. The campaign began around Halloween and continues through New Year's.

The campaign's "voice" throughout is Mike Arms, of the Helen Woodward Animal Center, Rancho Santa Fe, CA. Kris Parlett, of the Iams external relations department, calls Arms an innovative thinker. After all, a decade ago - and even today - some shelters close around the holidays. "They're giving into that old myth that people are more irresponsible about pet adoption at the holidays," Arms says.

"It's really a made-up rumor, an urban legend that I believe began as someone just said it's true," explains Arms. "And the pet stores who sell puppy-mill animals jumped right on it. They didn't want the competition from shelters. And the truth is that some who ran shelters just wanted the time off (work) at the holiday season for themselves. It was nonsense."

Despite Arms' obvious success, some remain cynical, though the promotion obviously impresses with big numbers -- millions of animal lives saved. But even more impressive are the individual stories. They're simple stories really, about finding a new friend, or in the case of Catherine Klimek of LaGrange, IL, two new friends. Shortly after losing her elderly cat, Bertha, last year, she decided to give herself a Christmas gift. On Dec. 26, she visited Catnap from the Heart, a local shelter.

"I specifically wanted to adopt two adult cats," she says. "I was overwhelmed a bit when I walked in. The first cat I saw was Chatchi, who was just sitting there cleaning himself. And it seemed that wherever I went (in the shelter), Chatchi was there, but pretending to ignore me. Finally, I figured out what he was telling me. His mate at the shelter was Joanie. They'd actually been at the shelter a couple of years, and were then around four years old. I just had to give them a home. The shelter staff asked if I wanted to take the cats on a trial basis, but I said, "I can't. If I take them out of the building, they're mine."

Klimek adopted both cats and hasn't looked back. "One best friend, that's great," she says. "Two best friends, even better."

Daniel Nolan was searching New York City shelters for a smaller-sized canine friend this November. "Sometimes the right dog just hits you," she says. "And you fall in love." Interestingly, the love affair for Nolan began online, before he even met his dog. After spotting Brownie on a Web site, Dan and his fiancee, Maggie, were just as impressed with the pooch 'in person' after rushing down to meet him at Bideawee Animal Shelter in New York City.

They were even more taken with the dog after hearing his back story. Brownie was a stray in Tennessee who'd discovered a source of food and companionship with a vacationing family. When the vacation ended, the family left Brownie at a local shelter. The facility was overrun with dogs, so the 20-pound mixed-breed pooch was relocated to the Big Apple, where smaller dogs for people living in small spaces are a big plus.

"He's been our best buddy," says Nolan, who quickly changed the dog's name to - Buddy.

Parlett offers his explanation for the success of the Home 4 the Holidays campaign: "People are more receptive to adopting at this time of year. For many families it's the season of giving - and there's no greater than the gift of life for an orphaned pet. Families are all together and connected, maybe more so than at any other time of year."

Learn more about the adoption program at www.home4theholidays.com.

(In full disclosure, Steve Dale adopted a Home 4 the Holidays dog, Ethel, a few years back. Also, Iams is one of many sponsors on his national radio shows).

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