After her beloved pit bull, Violet, died last month, Laurie Adachi said she needed a new companion.
While she was enjoying her Saturday afternoon at Castaic Animal Care Center, trying to find her furry friend at the “Summertime of Hope” adoption event, Adachi was hanging out with Honey, a 5-year-old Husky mix who was a ball of energy.
Adachi said she has only ever rescued or went to a shelter for her dogs.
“That gives you an opportunity to talk to people that already know the dog, but also, hang out with the dog and kind of get a feel for them,” Adachi said about adoption.
Erica Sellers helped plan the event and said that doing these adoption days can help highlight what the dogs at the shelter have to offer.
“I think it’s very important for us to remember that the shelter is here, first and foremost, because I personally didn’t really know what Castaic had going on anymore … There was a lot of great dogs here and this was still happening, and this was still a good place to come,” Sellers said. “And there’s just incredible dogs here. So, I think it’s just very important that, you know, there’s such a dog crisis.”
Along with the adoption event, there was a booth offering free magnets for people who adopted an animal.
Sabrina Taylor-Encarnacion, owner of Furever Framed, had her equipment all set up for whoever wanted a free magnet of whatever they wanted.
Taylor-Encarnacion has always been an animal lover and said she has taken any animal she possibly could after losing her first family dog, Precious, who was a Rottweiler-sheep dog mix, in an arson fire when she was very young.
Her dog now is Izzy, a little Corgi who she calls her “inspiration.”
When asked what she wanted to impress on for the community about adoption, she said that, despite the economic climate, people should try to adopt an animal because shelters are too crowded.
One volunteer, Shaun Buttitta, was walking some of the dogs that were up for adoption like Pixie, who is a husky.
Buttitta said that having events helps spread the word about getting more people to come and see the dogs that need to be adopted – which he said is great and rewarding.
“It makes me feel so warm. It’s just great to see the dogs that I work with most weeks just finally hopefully find a home, be loved by some people. It’s just really rewarding to see,” Buttitta said.
Buttitta said he has one beagle named Peanut and one cat named Snowy.
“And like I said, I’ve grown up with pets my whole life. I just think, especially dogs, you can really relate to them on a personal level, like no other. And it’s just really, it’s really reassuring just to help in so many instances,” Buttitta said.
Sadie Mantlo and Alli Boyer, owners of dog grooming business Scrubby Dubby Doo, said that they wanted to give their services for free to help dogs get adopted.
“I think specifically for the shelter, because, you know, we want them to feel good. And, you know, we want dogs to be like, as appealing to someone who is looking to adopt as they can be,” Mantlo said. “And for free, because like, I, where else are they going to get it? And I have no issue, you know, giving my services to them.”
“There were so many things that volunteers can do. So, if we can offer that (dog grooming), because, yeah, they just need it,” Boyer said. “And it’s really great exposure for them to be around people before they get adopted, too, so that the new owner can feel comfortable that the dog’s been properly socialized.”
