Florence Area Humane Society: Kia Pet Adoption Grant Report

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

We began the program on March 9, 2024, and while the news of the Kia Pet Adoption grant from the Petfinder Foundation providing for "free adoptions" took a bit of time to circulate to the public, once the news got out, adoption rates picked up. FAHS extended the free adoptions (although funds had been exhausted before the end of the first month) and saw a 25% increase from the prior year in overall adoptions during the two months that followed.

Because of this success rate, the free adoptions have continued. This helped to free up an already overpopulated shelter, thus reducing the costs of the burden of care for our animals!

How many pets did this grant help?

This grant helped 10 dogs and 18 cats get adopted. As mentioned, the free adoption success has continued, thus helping even more animals get adopted!

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

Thor and Pretzel’s adoptive mom writes:

Approximately one month ago, my family and I decided that we wanted to adopt a new dog. We’d recently lost our dog Bandit, who had been affectionately known to my little boy as his “Big Brother.” My son had never known a life without his “Big Brother.”

Unfortunately, Bandit became ill very suddenly and passed away of suspected cancer. He was nearly 9 years old. Our hearts still hurt deeply, and we miss Bandit so much. And, while we had debated adding a new dog to our crew years before Bandit’s passing, we didn’t think that Bandit would be accepting, and we ultimately decided against it.

I feel it necessary to share Bandit’s story because he was there for us during some of the best and worst times of our lives, and he was so much more than just a “dog.” He became family, and I’ve decided that one of the best decisions that I ever made was rescuing him from the side of the road all of those years ago.

Bandit taught us that a dog’s love is infinite and pure. While Bandit could never be replaced, we decided after his passing that we wanted to adopt another dog.

Ultimately, after Bandit’s passing, my little boy decided that he wanted to adopt a puppy. We decided to go to the animal shelter to look. We decided while there that we wanted to look at a younger black dog we’d noticed in one of the kennels, because I’d once read that black dogs are the last to be adopted.

Unfortunately, the dog was really shy, so the staff brought Pretzel (first photo) out to see if that would make the black dog more comfortable. The black dog was not comfortable even with Pretzel coming out. However, we noted that Pretzel had the best personality, and she loved on each one of us.

While there, the staff let us meet a few other dogs as well. However, we knew right away that Pretzel was special. We were told that she’d been at the shelter since she was just a couple of months old, and now she was nearly six months old.

Fast forward, we were advised of how to complete the adoption application and we received a call back around one week later that we had been approved. My little boy was super excited. He had been talking about Pretzel all week long.

I’m sure you must be thinking, how does Thor come into the picture? Well, during the time that we were waiting to hear back about our adoption application, we kept checking the shelter’s page to see if Pretzel was still available and to admire the many adorable dogs currently available for adoption. Well, one of those times, we stumbled upon a video of Thor. He was playing ball and he looked like he would be so much fun.

Fast forward again, we arrive at the shelter ready to adopt Pretzel. My little boy was elated, and we were not leaving without her. However, we decided that we wanted to meet Thor. Immediately, we fell in love with him and so, at our request, the staff allowed us to do a meet-and-greet for Thor and Pretzel. Those two hit it off really well and immediately started playing. My husband and I discussed it and we decided that we wanted to adopt them both.

I am happy to report that we have had them both for a month now. They play well together. They enjoy being held and loved on. Thor may or may not like to sit with me in my recliner and may or may not have slept in the bed with me. He is the biggest lap dog, and he loves to play ball. They both love treats, and they are crate-trained and, by luck, they both came home potty-trained. And Thor has helped me to become more diligent about picking up our shoes and whatnot, because he may or may not have been known to grab a sock or shoe or two.

But honestly, I find it mind-boggling that, with as sweet of a dog as Thor is, someone could have left him tied to a park bench along with two other dogs. I hope during the time that he has been with us that he realizes that he is very special.

I share all of this with you to emphasize how rewarding it has been to adopt both Pretzel and Thor. They complete our family. My little boy is excited to have a “little brother” and “little sister.” They greet us when we come home with the biggest tail wags and cuddles.

I want to thank the staff at the Jayne Boswell Animal Shelter/Florence Area Humane Society for being patient with us, and for allowing us sufficient time to meet the dogs and for making the adoption process such a pleasant experience.

I’d also like to thank the Petfinder Foundation for the KIA adoption grant that funded our adoption fees. It makes my heart happy to know that, through this grant, many wonderful dogs will be saved and find good homes.