ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — News 13’s Annual Pet Project is back!
This year it will be bigger than ever with 14 Western North Carolina animal shelters participating. All of them will have adoptable dogs and cats at the event. There will be free food and performances by Daredevil Dogs this year, along with some puppy Pilates.
It is a fun event for the whole family, but it plays a big role in helping homeless animals in the mountains and the shelters that help them.
News 13’s Meghan Danahey and her new shelter pup, Rusty, will be at Pet Project from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Hunter Subaru in Fletcher across from Asheville Regional Airport on Friday, Oct. 20.
It’s important for an organization like Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation to be involved in these events because it helps people learn more about them, staff say.
“We’re just a little rescue from Waynesville and getting out and getting the animals seen by other people is such a huge boon and sometimes it’s easier to get them adopted in a place they’re not from,” Lyndsey Tate, with Sarge’s, tells News 13. “Not only that but we get to network with other rescues from Asheville that we wouldn’t otherwise get to network with and share knowledge with and talk with.”
Asheville Humane Society will bring new technology to Pet Project this year, available to all in attendance.
“We’ll be handing out these tags to go on an animals’ collar,” Mabel Lujan with Asheville Humane Society tells News 13. “They show that that animal has a microchip, and, on the back, you can scan it and see all the locations that you can get that chip scanned in case that animal is just found roaming in the community and that will expedite reuniting them with their family.”
Andrew James, with Blue Ridge Humane Society, says they’ve noticed that animals are staying longer at their facility in Edneyville.
“That means we need as much attention, as many eyes, as much exposure as we can get for our animals,” he told News 13. “We know that there are families that want to adopt dogs, maybe they just haven’t seen the right dog yet, haven’t had it right in front of them. This is the type of event where people can come and they can meet, they can adopt on site and we’re so excited about it.”
For Foothills Humane Society in Polk County, and other rural shelters across the area, exposure to more people is really helpful for them. They say it is sometimes easier to have their pets adopted in other parts of the region. Maybe the shelter in your county doesn’t have the dog or cat you are looking for.
“We have awesome dogs and cats, and coming together in a big group with other shelters and organizations that have the same need as us, is a great asset to the community,” Foothills Humane Society Director Kat Hamilton tells News 13. “Because if they’re looking for a specific pet right now, they can go there and talk to a lot of shelters at once.”
Other organizations, like Transylvania Animal Alliance Group (TAAG) are completely foster based with no adoption facility. Their cats are socialized and cared for in loving homes until they can find forever families. They will be at Pet Project. You can also find them with adoptable cats at the Pet Smart on Airport Road every Saturday.
