Pet adoption event marked by leaps and bonds

Twelve-year-old Sammy Sam’s former owners moved. Little Chelsea’s said they had too many animals. And Ginger’s reason for abandonment was listed simply as “unrealistic expectations.”

Whatever the reason, about a dozen cats sat in cages Saturday as part of the PAWS for the Cause Pet Adoption Day in the C.I. Shenanigans restaurant parking lot in downtown Spokane.

John Sweeney said he and his girlfriend, Sherry Nield, had been hoping to adopt a boxer “for a very long time.”

On Saturday, Sweeney immediately spotted a 2-year-old boxer named Jayna.

“She was just amazing,” he said. “We just kind of walked right up to her.”

Jayna’s sister, Teka, found a home with another Spokane couple.

Teka and Jayna were among more than a dozen animals from local shelters who found homes during the event, including Jackson, a 6-year-old sheltie-heeler mix.

He’d been at the Spokane Humane Society for about eight months. One person had already adopted and then returned him, saying they realized they couldn’t afford him.

Jackson left Saturday’s event with 16-year-old Daniel Cunningham.

“We were planning to adopt soon, if not today,” he said. “I’d kinda had my sights on this one.”

Humane society volunteers were thrilled to see Jackson find a good match.

“If no one else at all got adopted but Jackson we could call it a rip-roaring success,” said volunteer Diane Rasmussen.

Humane society employees joined representatives from SpokAnimal C.A.R.E. and Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service at the event, which organizer Kim Malone said she hopes will become annual.

Malone, special events manager for C.I. Shenanigans, said she wanted to help animals after her dogs, 13-year-old Brodie and 6-year-old Monte, died of cancer about four months ago.

“It wasn’t something I saw coming or was expecting, and it changed me quite a bit,” she said. She reached out to local animal-advocacy agencies and serves as a foster parent for dogs preparing for adoption.

Raising awareness is key, she said.

“The shelters are full,” Malone said. “There’s beautiful purebreds that need homes.”

The event went off with few hitches. Two felines were returned to their shelter because of health concerns. And a young cat named Elizabeth bolted from her cage and ran under a car; a group of six helped round her up, volunteer Tina Skelton said.

A Spokane man adopted Ginger, a 10-year-old white cat with black-and-reddish markings, for his mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease.

“I think she’s going to be perfect for your mom and dad,” Skelton told the man. “Any type of pet is a healer.”