At 10 a.m. today, the new expansion at our Downtown Adoption Center will be open.
As you walk into the front door, just past the main lobby, you will find a center area and five office areas that have been converted to cat rooms where the cats can mingle, socialize and frolic with each other. Anyone looking for a cat to adopt will be able to enter the room and meet several cats, finding each one with their own personality. Select your newest family member, your cat, and take him home.
To your right, through the doorway, you will enter the new dog adoption area. The old Manatee County mail room has been renovated to make 33 private suites for the dogs. Two office areas in front have been turned into socialization rooms where people can openly play with a dog, while getting to know them better and where the dogs get to show their stuff. These rooms also serve as a place for people to bring their own pets so everyone can make sure they are comfortable to make the family complete.
The new Manatee County Animal Services' Downtown Adoption Center is located just east of the Manatee County Administration Building at 1002B Manatee Ave.
W. Since Manatee Avenue traffic has been changed in the downtown area, parking is available on both sides of the road. The public parking garage is located directly behind the adoption center for additional parking.
The Downtown Adoption Center will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. We also will have our "Support No Kill Manatee County" T-shirts and bumper stickers available for purchase so you can help our efforts and show your support.
When we first opened the Downtown Adoption Center just over a year ago, we did not know how it would be received or how it would work out. Look at us a year later, expanding the adoption area, making this a large, full-scale off-site adoption center. Your new furry, four-legged family member is waiting for you. Visit the center today.
Now, with the opening of our expanded adoption center, we need the help of the community. We are asking for volunteers to walk the dogs and play with the cats. All citizens, county employees, clerk's office staff, judicial center personnel, anyone and everyone, we need your help. Our dogs would like to walk with you, and you can walk with them. Our cats look forward to the smiling faces of those who spend time playing with and petting them. This interaction is necessary and a benefit to the dogs and cats by providing socialization and exercise. This is good for both the volunteer and the pets. Who knows, you may end up taking one of them home.
If you are a dog walker or cat buddy, sign up to help. Even if you don't have any experience, we can show you the ropes. You will find a lot of places to walk the dogs in downtown Bradenton, and the cats have plenty of toys you can use to play with them. Stop in and visit -- you will be met with a wag and a lick; a leg rub and a purr. Volunteer today because the dogs and cats need you. They will thank you for it, and that's a promise.
If you never have to look into the eyes of a dog or cat and make a choice, you are lucky. One day, we all would like to be lucky.
Adopt your new family member from Manatee County Animal Services today. Don't forget about our March adoption special. A best friend is like a four-leaf clover: hard to find and lucky to have. Adopt your best friend today! Dog adoptions for the month of March are only $30 and this price will include a health check, microchip, spay/neuter and a current rabies certificate/tag fee. This is a $60 savings off of regular adoption fees. Call our information line at 941-749-3067.
