The animal shelter in Adams County, Pa., experienced what many news outlets are calling a "Christmas miracle." The shelter adopted out 598 animals and reunited another 125 lost pets with their owners, leaving all the cages empty for the first time in 47 years.
“To say that we are beyond excited is an understatement! The staff and volunteers have worked VERY hard to take care of the animals in our care and to make sure they got adopted to the right home!” reads the Facebook post.
It's a remarkable feat. That it happened at Christmas isn't surprising. Not only are puppies a popular Christmas gift, but this is a time of year when many animal lovers open their hearts to take in an older animal that might be especially hard to place.
Many times, the human is rewarded for their love with an incredible animal friend. Dogs and cats are known to feel a kind of gratitude and they express it in a variety of ways.
Related: In the Biden Economy, Not Even Pets Are Spared
Every year, about 6.3 million animals enter shelters nationwide, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a non-profit that focuses on animal cruelty. It said that, within those shelters, more than 3 million animals are dogs and 3.2 million are cats.
The ASPCA reported that approximately 920,000 shelter animals are euthanized yearly, representing a decrease from the more than 2.5 million cats and dogs euthanized in shelters in 2011.
“This decline can be partially explained by an increase in the percentage of animals adopted and an increase in the number of stray animals successfully returned to their owners,” the ASPCA said.
It used to be a crapshoot for shelter animals whether the home they were going to was fit or if the family was truly ready to adopt. Sometimes, a family with the best of intentions had no idea what they were getting into by rescuing a puppy and the father would show up a few days after Christmas to return a rambunctious pet.
That's less likely to happen today. Most shelters take great pains to match an animal with a human companion and gauge the commitment of the family to the animal's well-being.
For 1st time in nearly 50 years, all dogs adopted out of Pa. animal shelter ahead of Christmas https://t.co/2coDV6z54P
— Action News on 6abc (@6abc) December 26, 2023
The ASPCA are the good guys. They don't euthanize animals unless they're sick and suffering — unlike PETA, which claims to have the same policy as the ASPCA but has been caught euthanizing animals for no good reason.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member