Portsmouth Humane Society: Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
Just after we received this grant for free or reduced-cost adoptions, the Humane Society of the United States contacted us about taking some dogs from a shelter in dire need of assistance. We partnered with four other shelters and took a total of 32 dogs, 16 of whom stayed here. We offered free adoptions for all of our animals the week following this transfer. We also offered reduced-fee adoptions as part of our summer kick-off party on June 2. The total number of animals adopted thanks to this grant were 26.
The majority of the animals helped were from our HSUS transfer group (fourth photo). They had been through so much already and were finally able to find their forever homes. This time of the year, we see a lot of animals in need come in. The Petfinder Foundation grant helped us to find homes for some harder-to-place animals and helped us to free up space quickly to help even more animals. Thank you so much for all that you do!
How many pets did this grant help?
26 (seven cats, 15 dogs, two puppies, one rabbit and one reptile)
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
The majority of the animals helped were from our HSUS transfer group. They had been through so much already and were finally able to find their forever homes. A few other special pets who were helped by this grant were Maui and Zachary (first photo). These dogs were surrendered by their owners due to an inability to take care of them. Zachary was partially blind, both dogs were seniors, and they were a bonded pair. This made finding an adopter willing to take on the two of them together that much more challenging. Thanks in part to our fee-waived adoption, they have found their forever home with a wonderful family (second photo). Their mom sent us this update: “Hello from Maui and Zachary! We are enjoying our new home! We get to snuggle with Dad on the couch and go for walks to the park. We probably get a few too many treats, but that’s only because we’re such good dogs. Thanks for taking care of us and finding us a family! Love, Zachary and Maui”
Also helped was Charlie, a 14-year-old poodle who was surrendered to our shelter because he was old, blind, and hard of hearing. This sweet boy loves to be held and only wants to be by someone’s side. I am happy to say that, thanks in part to this grant, we found Charlie a loving home. Charlie and his new mom (third photo) have made each other very happy!
Finally, Debbie (fourth photo) was adopted too. This beautiful girl has grown so much since she came into the shelter last year painfully shy and frightened. Though the dedication of staff, volunteers, and foster families, she has blossomed into a wonderful companion.
