NBC 6’s Julia Bagg has more on the efforts to help overcrowding in South Florida shelters.
Over 150 cats will be traveling across the United States on Tuesday for the chance of a lifetime: the chance to find a forever home.
The furry felines will be making the trip from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to shelters in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire in an attempt to move them from overpopulated shelters in South Florida.
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"It's not fair for kittens to sit in our shelter, so it's good to get a chance to get them into homes," said Brianna Novy from the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast, one of the organizations taking part in the event.
Clear The Shelters 2022
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The trips, part of a combined effort between NBCUniversal's Clear the Shelters campaign and organizations like the Greater Good Charities, will airlift around 200 at-risk animals.
"These cats are coming from shelters that have a lot of pets in their care right now," said Joann Fuller from Hill's Pet Nutrition, one of the sponsors for the event. "A little bit harder to find them homes and they’re flying across the country to find a better chance to get a home.”
There, they will be received by Northeast Animal Shelter and MSPCA-Angell in Massachusetts and Monadnock Humane Society in New Hampshire. After being treated for any medical ailments, the animals will be put up for adoption in their New England homes.
A similar event will be conducted at the end of the campaign when 50 dogs are transported from New Orleans to New Jersey on August 30th.
“It’s not just about making sure that these pets can find a forever home, but it’s making space so shelters can offer more pets that need to have that second chance to find love," said Fuller.
This year, the event will be sponsored by Hill's Pet Nutrition, Zoetis and The Dodo.
The airlifts will focus on vulnerable pets, like asymptomatic heartworm positive shelter dogs, homeless cats and large dogs.
NBC 6 and Telemundo 51 are part of the month-long Clear The Shelters effort by NBCUniversal Local which works to promote pet adoptions, support local shelters, and increase community awareness of animal welfare.
Now in its eighth year, Clear the Shelters has helped more than 700,000 pets find forever families. In 2021 alone,140,000 pets were adopted and over $500k was raised.
This year's campaign includes more than 1,000 animal shelters and rescues across the United States, Puerto Rico, and Guam.
Participating South Florida shelters and pet foster cares include:
- South Florida Lending Hands
- The Cat Network, Inc
- Abandoned Pet Rescue
- Broward County Animal Care
- MarrVelous Pet Rescues Inc
- Florida Keys SPCA
- Florida Keys Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
- Human Society of Broward County
- Miami-Dade County Animal Services
Pet adoptions are made easier than ever before through partner WeRescue's app used to browse available pets right from the comfort of your own home. The app provides pets in your area to your standards of breed, gender or size, and even allows for virtual applications to be submitted.
