Southern Souls Animal League: No Fee/Low Fee All Love Adoption Grant Report

How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?

The Petfinder Foundation No Fee/Low Fee All Love Adoption Grant had a tremendous impact on Southern Souls Animal League and the animals in our care. The grant allowed us to remove financial barriers for adopters by waiving or reducing adoption fees for cats and dogs who had spent extended periods in our shelter. Many of these pets were long-stay residents or animals who were frequently overlooked despite being wonderful companions.

Through this program, we exceeded our original goal of 15 adoptions and helped place 23 cats and dogs into loving homes. More than $3,000 in adoption fees were waived, allowing families to welcome a pet into their home while ensuring our organization could continue focusing on lifesaving work.

As a small rural rescue, kennel space is often limited. Every adoption created space for another vulnerable animal in need of rescue, medical care, and shelter. The grant not only improved outcomes for the pets directly adopted through the program but also increased our overall capacity to serve animals throughout our community.

How many pets did this grant help?

23

Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.

Phoebe (first photo) was one of the pets who directly benefited from the Petfinder Foundation No Fee/Low Fee All Love Adoption Grant.

When Phoebe came into our care, she was suffering from a severe upper-respiratory infection that ultimately left her with significant damage to one of her eyes. Before she could be adopted, Phoebe required months of treatment, monitoring, and recovery. Once she was healthy enough, she underwent surgery to address her damaged eye and then spent additional time recovering in foster care.

Because of her lengthy medical journey, Phoebe had been with Southern Souls Animal League for several months by the time she was finally ready for adoption. Although she was a sweet and affectionate cat, longer stays can make it harder for pets to find homes, especially when adopters are concerned about past medical issues.

Thanks to the Petfinder Foundation grant, we were able to waive Phoebe’s adoption fee and remove a financial barrier for her adopter. Phoebe was successfully adopted into a loving home where she can enjoy the life she deserves after everything she endured.

Phoebe’s story represents exactly why this grant was so important. It helped long-stay and overlooked animals move into permanent homes while creating space for Southern Souls Animal League to continue helping other vulnerable pets in our rural community. Along with Phoebe, 22 additional cats and dogs benefited from the grant and found loving homes during the grant period.