The “world’s largest” pet adoption drive, Iams Home 4 the Holidays, hopes to find homes for 415,000 dogs and cats this holiday season. That number, which would set a world record, is within “paws reach,” says John Van Zante, a spokesman for the program.
“So far, 41,721 dogs and puppies have gone home with their new families, compared to 41,591 cats and kittens,” Van Zante says. “It’s a narrow lead for the dog people, but the program continues through Jan. 3, and we may see that change several times.”
More than 2,600 animal shelters in 14 countries are participating in this year’s drive, which launched Nov. 5.
Iams Home 4 the Holidays was founded in 1999 at the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., as a program to raise awareness of pet adoption during the holiday season.
“We found homes for 2,563 dogs and cats in 1999,” Van Zante says. By 2006, that number had grown to more than 378,000, he says.
This year’s totals are about 10,000 ahead of this time last year, making the goal of 415,000 adoptions “quite likely,” Van Zante says.
To learn more about the program or to find a participating animal shelter, call (800) 421-6456 or visit www.iamshome4theholidays.org.