Minerva and 57 Pets Found Happiness this week!

Have you heard Minerva’s story yet?

After being adopted from us as a kitten in 2019, 6 months ago Minerva was surrendered to Bedford Animal Shelter. Once they realized she was our cat we arranged to have her transferred back to our care. Only when we saw her, she wasn’t the same tiny kitten we once knew. Minerva was 16 lbs of mush and love. We decided to put her on a diet and give her as much exercise as we could until she was adopted, but it wasn’t much.

Because of her special diet, she couldn’t be placed in the larger rooms, so her exercise was limited to her small crate. After months of no adoption interest, we decided to give her a shot in one of our offices with the Volunteer Coordinator. She loved it there! She was social, active, and talkative. As much as she loved it she still wasn’t losing weight, and customers were no longer seeing her. Minerva’s best chance of losing the weight was being adopted.

Finally last week after we moved her to the very front of our lobby she was adopted! We are so proud and excited for Minera, and so thankful to her adopters. We’d also like to thank Bank of the James for being this month’s banner sponsor.

Pets that were adopted October 28th through November 3rd.

Cats that were adopted:

Apple Bourbon, Belushi, Blossom, Boots, Bullseye, Caboodle, Cahoots, Cheez-it, Cherry, Doxie, Farley, Harbor, Hemlock, Hickory, Kermit, Limeade, Macy Gray, Maple, Martin, Mila, Minerva, Oakum, Oyster, pacific Cooler, Phione, Pika, River, Salma, Sassafras, Sugar Apple, Tadpole, Triscuit, and Waldo.

Dogs that were adopted:

Alfie, Blondie, Bowie, Charlie, Chilli, Chocolate Croissant, Copper, Delia, Dussell, Gabriel, Kona, Luck, Midnight, Millington, Nala, Pearl, Philadelphia, Priest, Reeka, Scooby, Simba, Stevie, Wild Bill, and Wishbone.

This month we partnered with Terry Subaru for lots of great adoptions!

Subaru Loves Pets month is coming to an end and we’d like to celebrate all the great adoptions we were able to do thanks to Terry!

Every October, we partner with Terry Subaru for weekly adoption events and fundraising. This month, Terry Subaru pledged to donate $100 for every car purchased during the month of October as well as a bag of pet food for every customer test drive!

Each Saturday this month we took 5-10 pets to the dealership for two hours of sponsored adoption fees. In total, we did 25 adoptions over the course of 4 days. 24 kittens and 1 puppy found Happiness this month thanks to YOU!

Including the Center for Pet adoptions, we had 62 pets Find Happiness this week. Thank you so much to everyone who’s adopted and shout out to our sponsors this month at Bank of the James for being a dedicated partner!

Pets that were adopted October 21st through October 27th.

Cats that were Adopted:

Birdie, Blinky, Blood Orange, Blue Slushy, Bobo, Breezy, Carina, Clyde, Cobweb, Corgan, Daisy Duck, Doc, Eddie, Fortune, Frank-N-Furter, Gabby, Gelato, Goose, Green Day, Hollandaise, Julius Caesar, Krumm, Palindrome, Rainbow Ice, Rhaenys, Riff Raff, Rocky, Roland, Rubble, Scout, Snow White, Strawberry Beltz, Torrid, Watermelon, White Grape, Zero.

Dogs that were adopted:

Adam, Barry, Billy, Buckwheat, Diego, Dreamcatcher, Duchess, Horseshoe, Jasper, Julia, Katara, Luke, Lydia, Milo, Mocha, Mochi, Price, Pupperbutter, Rocko, Scar, Twila, Twirl, Vagabond, Wild Bill.

66 pets were adopted this week, among them Breadstick!

Breadstick is a fighter. He came to us in August with a mild upper respiratory infection. Little did we know he was in the beginning stages of a potentially much more serious illness. Breadstick was sent into foster to treat his mild cold when his foster parents first noticed the ulcers. They reported back to us, and we examined him.

What started out as a mild cold had grown into a viral infection, that caused welts on his face, and loss of appetite. He was feverish, and we feared for the worst. FIP, also known as Feline Coronavirus is something we never want to see in the shelter. The disease is intense and while there have been advancements in treatment in recent years, it is still often fatal. We wanted to be sure Breadstick did not have it. Thankfully after further testing and observation, we discovered his feverish infection was just a bad case of Calicivirus, an oral upper respiratory infection. Even though his ulcers were more difficult to treat, we had all the tools and medications necessary to heal him completely.

Breadstick graduated from foster fully recovered 2 weeks ago, and this week found an amazing new home. Thank you so much to his adopters, as well as his fosters for caring for this deserving boy.

Pets that were adopted October 14th through October 20th.

Cats that were adopted:

Alexandria, Bastet, Breadstick, Bridget, Cable, Calliope, Canada Dry, Caribbean, Breeze, Charlene Wittstock, Concrete Blond, Diana, Dr. Bull, Eloise, Faron, Fedora, Hot Topic, Hugo, Isabella, Jet, Jiggy, Jubilee, June Bug, Kacey, Keko, Lorraine, Louie, Lyra, Megatron, Noir, Pandora, Paprika, Parrot, Pink Lemonade, Rainer, Rhaenyra, Ricotta, Shoshanna, Stimpy, Theodore, Tony Gambone, Tropical Paradise, Tulip, White Gummy.

Dogs that were adopted:

Amulet , Annabelle, Bambam, Black Panther, Black Widow, Daphne, Dee Oh Gee, Diego, Hulk, Iron Man, Jake, Jericho, Momo, Mr. Pickles, Otho, Ovaltine, Paprika, Parsley, Primrose, Scooby, Spider-Man, Takito, Tallulah.

After nearly 4 years in the shelter system, Ellarix was finally adopted!

Over the past few years, you may have seen Ellarix featured on our Facebook page and website. Ellarix was transferred to us in 2021 from Appomattox Animal Shelter with a leg injury, and over the years, became our longest-stay dog of over 1,000 days. Thankfully she’s spent most of those days in a loving #LHSfoster home.

Ellarix has always been a wonderful dog and her fosters can attest. After 2 years they learned she is a needy, snuggly baby. She loves booty scratches, tug-o-war, and a kong full of peanut butter. Ellarix is far from high maintenance as she spends most of her time sleeping in her bed, on her favorite couch, on her foster’s bed, or really anywhere that’s comfortable!

You’re probably wondering “Wow, she sounds great, why did it take her so long to find a home?” Well, when Ellarix first arrived she had a bad tear in her leg that needed surgery. These surgeries take time and the recovery process, even longer. Once her recovery was complete her fosters couldn’t bear returning her, and adopters just stopped asking about her. That is, until this week. Finally, someone saw her story on our page and was so touched, that he came to the Center right away. He was so smitten with her loving eyes and cute ears that he set up a meeting to adopt with her fosters. And that’s what he did. After 3 years in the shelter, and 2 years in foster, Ellarix finally found an adoptive home to call her own.

Out of the 87 adoptions done this week, this was truly the most special and we are so excited for Ellarix and her new family! Thank you so much to her adopters and of course, her amazing fosters who have cared for her these past two years out of the kindness of their hearts, and asked for nothing in return.

Adoptions like these wouldn’t be possible without our amazing community, and sponsors like Bank of the James, so thank you for your support!

Pets that were adopted October 7th through October 13th.

Cats that were adopted:

Aldo, Aretha, Audi, Bucky, Calibos, Caramel Brulee, Connor, Cowbell, Daenerys, Deku, Donny, Dragonfruit, Earl Grey, Eden, Eggs, Eliza, Green Day, Hera, Hibiscus, Hippogriff, Hollister, Jen, Jimmy Two Times, Jolly Rancher, Julep, Lady Grey, Larry, Leah, Leo,Lyra, Macadamia, Marissa, Millie, Morty, Mustang, Nimbus, Persia, Pink Floyd, Pomegranate, Poppy, Queen Charlotte, Rocky, Scamper, Shade, Silvera, Silver Chair, Sir Phillip, Siren, Solage, and Thunder.

Dogs that were adopted:

Alfie, Banana Pudding, Bettlejuice, Boney Maroney, Cherry Pie, Chive, Chocolate Croissant, Cosmo. Dill, Draco, Ellarix, Freya, Froggy, Garlic, Gilly, Harmonica, Hibachi, Ichabod, Jasper, Kazoo, Kuzco, lady Bug, Martha, Miso, Miss Jiff, Nutmeg, Porky, Ramen, Saucy, Shiloh, Tracy, Truman, Vivian, Vulcan, Yankee Doodle, Zamboni, and Zorro.

We rescued 5 dogs from North Carolina last week. All but one have found loving homes!

We know many of you have been curious about whether we are able to help pets affected by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. While we are low on space ourselves, thanks to our wonderful fosters and adopters, we were able to take in 5 dogs and 10 cats from Rockingham County Animal Shelter. We’ve reached out to other organizations in need, and have also offered our building as a resting point for other rescue organizations transporting pets long distances.

Of the five dogs we took in last week to make space in Rockingham County shelter, three were adopted in just a few short days. Kuzto the Husky mix was nervous and overwhelmed by this displacement. Luckily, our team was able to find him a foster home to decompress, and now they plan on adopting! That leaves only one dog from the transfer left, Blondie, a 10 month old medium sized Husky mix, and we hope to find her a home fast!

We will keep you updated on the adoptions to come, and whether we take in more pets from North Carolina shelters to help free up space for more pets that need sanctuary from the terrible flooding.

Thank you so much for all the support, and shout out to our adopters as well as our sponsors at Bank of the James for supporting us this month.

Pets that were adopted September 30th through October 6th.

Cats that were adopted:

Alanis, Augustus Gloop, Baela, Batty, Bigfoot, Chai, Chimera, Cobain, Coven, Dorothy, Elle, Fairy, Froppy, Galileo, Helena, James Bond, Kelsea, Laverne, Lightning, Lime, Lion, Mage, Mickey, Omen, Oolong, Oslo, Pepa, Pepper Jack, Phineas, Ramsey, Raviolo, Ruby, Sahara, Salt, Smokey, Squeaks McGee, Tony, Toyota, and Whatchamacallit.

Dogs that were adopted:

Aaliyah, Autumn, Booger, Bowie, Candy Corn, Creek, Curly, Daffodil, Happy, Igor, Lady, Lando, Luna Tuna, Mocha, Molly, Monkey, Nessie, Nutella, Peanut, Prancer, Sid, Starr, Stuart, and Vivica.