Dane County Humane Society: Kia Pet Adoption Grant Report

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

The Kia Pet Adoption Grant allowed Dane County Humane Society (DCHS) to waive adoption fees for 20 cats in our Lonely Hearts Club.

DCHS has an Adoption Guarantee, so adoptable animals can stay with us for as long as it takes to find their new homes. For pets that take longer to be adopted, we have the Lonely Hearts Club. Pets in the Lonely Hearts Club get a little extra support, which could include specialized social media campaigns and reduced or waived adoption fees.

Our adoption fees cover the cost of various services, like spay/neuter surgery, essential vaccinations, flea and tick treatments, microchips, and additional veterinary care as needed. Because of the grant funds, we were able to perform these essential services for these Lonely Hearts Club cats while also waiving adoption fees to make it easier for adopters to take them home.

How many pets did this grant help?

20

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

Vinny came to DCHS with dozens of other cats who had been housed in a single residence.

Because of the sheer number of cats in the home, she (like most of her housemates) had not received adequate medical care or socialization. This meant she needed vaccinations, spay surgery, a microchip, and more to prepare her medically for adoption. It also meant she was very shy and wary around humans, and the entirely new, unfamiliar setting was very stressful for her.

DCHS staff knew she and her former housemates would need a little extra help to find new homes with patient families willing to give them as much time as they needed to become comfortable in their new environments, so all the cats were added to DCHS’s Lonely Hearts Club.

DCHS also encouraged adopters to take home more than one of the cats if they didn’t already have a cat in their home, so that Vinny and her friends would have a cat buddy they could turn to for emotional and moral support.

Many of the cats went home after about a month, but Vinny had to wait almost two months before her new family found her. And luckily for Vinny, her adopters decided to take home one of her former housemates, too. Not only did Vinny get a second chance at a new beginning, she also got to start her new life with a friend she already knew and trusted.