Adopt it Forward this Holiday Season
The Ontario SPCA is committed to finding a loving home for every adoptable animal. Sadly, some animals are overlooked by adopters due to age or special needs. To help those animals find loving homes, we are piloting an adopt-it-forward program that gives donors the opportunity to pay the adoption fee for one of our animals having a difficult time getting adopted.
Some animals can be more challenging to adopt for a number of reasons. Senior animals and those with special needs are typically slower to get adopted. Suppose an animal’s adoption fee has been waived. In that case, it may encourage a potential adopter considering that animal to make the decision to adopt them. The money they save could be put toward future vet care or any special needs that the animal may require.
Anonymous donor pays adoption fee for 15 cats
The Ontario SPCA York Region Animal Centre has a donor who has been adopting-it-forward every year since 2016 and once in 2010. This generous donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, has paid the adoption fee for a total of 15 cats! He visits during the holidays in hopes that by paying the adoption fee of the cats who are harder to adopt, they will find a home by Christmas. In return, the York Region animal centre care team sends him pictures of the cats going home, along with adoption updates from the cat’s adopter, granted they receive permission to do so.
“We both enjoy seeing the updates of the cats in their new homes especially around Christmas, it’s always something nice to see. I like the fact that it took so little to bring so much joy to a cat that otherwise may not have had that experience of being in a house on Christmas morning with loads of happy people around to pet them. I grew up with cats all my life and my wife is similar. We have two of our own and I know the comfort they provide us throughout all of life’s challenges, it’s only fair we allow others to have that same experience,” says the donor.
Why the need to adopt it forward
As a registered charity, the Ontario SPCA depends on adoption fees to provide care to animals in need. The average cost of caring for a dog or cat who comes to the Ontario SPCA is over $600. That’s the cost of vaccination, spay or neuter surgery, treatment for any parasites, medical care and rehabilitation as required, daily welfare monitoring, microchipping, housing, feeding, cleaning and supplies.
The adoption fees have been reduced for the adopt-it-forward program to help some of our more difficult to adopt animals find the loving homes they deserve. The adoption fee to help a cat will be $175 and $300 to pay the adoption fee for a dog.
If you wish to pay for an animal’s adoption, visit pawsandgive.ca to adopt it forward. An animal will then be selected to have his or her adoption fee waived, based primarily on the length of time spent waiting for a forever home. Once that animal has been adopted, you will receive an update from the Ontario SPCA so you can see first-hand how your gift has changed a life.
To see animals available for adoption, visit ontariospca.ca/adopt.