The title of this post is a bit misleading because we believe that every animal who is saved is a cause for celebration. But we would like to recognize those adoption partners who saved the most lives in 2019.
#5: Lifeline Animal Project
This trio of Atlanta area shelters – in Fulton County, Atlanta, and Chamblee – made 18 Pets for Patriots adoptions in 2019. Near year end, their low-cost, publicly available Community Animal Center Veterinary Clinic joined our veterinarian partner program.
Already an adoption partner and have a publicly available veterinary clinic? Learn more about our veterinary partner program here.
#4: Atlanta Humane Society
Early in 2019 Atlanta Humane Society joined our program and wasted no time putting our tools to use. They even created a few of their own, which you can read more about here.
The organization had 19 veteran-pet adoptions in 2019 through their Alpharetta and Atlanta locations. And towards the end of 2019 their new Duluth campus joined our program as well. Atlanta Humane Society’s Veterinary Center offers our adopters 10 percent off fees at their full-service clinic.
#3: Blount County Animal Center
Maryville, Tennessee is a small city of just over 27,000 residents, but in 2019 Blount County Animal Center made 30 veteran-pet adoptions possible with us. Since 2014, the shelter has 115 Pets for Patriots adoptions, proving that even smaller communities can have big, lifesaving impacts.
#2: Prince George’s County Animal Management Division
This shelter in Upper Marlboro, Maryland is credited with 35 adoptions through our partnership in 2019.
Like many municipal organizations, it does not manage its own website and cannot easily use many of our free digital tools. But the staff promotes our program in the shelter and in the community at large. In 2020 they will be working closely with nearby Andrews Air Force Base, so we hope to see even more adoptions this year.
#1: Virginia Beach SPCA
In 2019 we had 65 adoptions through VBSPCA. The organization is consistently one of our highest velocity adoption partners. This is due in part to its proximity to various military bases, including Norfolk – the nation’s largest Naval base.
Part of the shelter’s success in our program is the seven day foster-to-adopt option they offer to our applicants. If a veteran is approved by the shelter to adopt a program-eligible dog or cat, but has not yet applied to Pets for Patriots, they are granted a seven day period to apply to us and be approved.
If they are approved, VBSPA refunds their adoption fee discount and sends us the final contract and ‘going home’ photo. If the veteran is not approved by us – or decides not to apply – the foster is converted to a regular, non-Pets for Patriots adoption.
This flexibility, in addition to staff using a wide range of our tips and tools, helped VBSPCA top our 2019 leaderboard.
How to be a top adoption partner
Pets for Patriots had a record 460 adoptions in 2019, thanks to the passion and efforts of our shelter/rescue partners across the country. While we cherish every single veteran-pet match, we know that we can do so much more together.
Please reach out to us if you are an animal welfare organization in our program and would like to discuss how to be more successful together. Not yet in our program, but interested to know more? Learn more here if you are a shelter/rescue organization and click here if you are a veterinary practice.
