For the Reporter

Twenty-six animal shelters – including the Auburn Valley Humane Society and the Regional Animal Services of King County in Kent – participated in Pawsitive Alliance’s Shelter Open House last Saturday, giving hundreds of homeless dogs and cats a chance to find new homes.

Pawsitive Alliance exceeded its goal of 250 cats, dogs and other shelter animals that were adopted during the third annual open house.

From Bellingham to Walla Walla, Everett to Spokane, Olympia to Yakima, Seattle to Tri-Cities – animal shelters in every part of the state opened their doors and asked local communities to come in and adopt a shelter pet.  The participating shelters put out the welcome mat with pet parades, raffles, obedience demonstrations, adoption promotions and activities.

“The goal of this event was to raise awareness of animal shelters across Washington state and the homeless animals in their care,” said Yolanda Morris, co-founder and president of Pawsitive Alliance. “We want people to go first to their local shelter when they are thinking about adding a cat or dog to their home.”

Adoption is key to helping end euthanasia of homeless pets in our state. Sadly, in Washington approximately 40,000 to 60,000 kittens, puppies, cats and dogs are euthanized each year due to lack of space.