Pet Adopt-a-Palooza slightly reduces overcrowding at Palmetto shelter

MANATEE -- Because it was the first countywide animal adoption event, Royal Pet Rescue President Julie Royal didn't know what to expect.

But on Saturday at Adopt-a-Palooza at the Bradenton Area Convention Center, all 18 dogs the rescue brought were adopted, Royal said.

"We expected to adopt some," Royal said Monday. "We were very, very pleased. ... We would bring even more animals" if there was another Adopt-a-Palooza.

More than 100 animals found new homes at the two-day adoption event. Manatee County Animal Services saw 36 dogs and 13 cats adopted, in addition to 40 dogs and 14 cats from area rescues.

"It was a success in so many ways," Manatee County Animal Services Interim Director Bill Hutchison said.

Hutchison said the Palmetto shelter brought dogs that were at the overcrowd

ed shelter for more than six months and they were adopted.

"Those guys really shined," he said. "That's just what we needed. A place to showcase how good those dogs were. ... It was a success by any measure."

Another in six months?

With the success of the weekend adoption event, Hutchison said he is already working with Elliott Falcione, director of the Bradenton Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, to see about doing another event in six months.

"I want to do it every six months," Hutchison said. "I can't wait to do another one. The next one will be even bigger and better."

Laurie Crawford, president of the nonprofit Animal Network, echoed Hutchison.

"I was just thrilled," she said. "I couldn't be happier. We got so many compliments about it. Even though it was a rainy weekend, people came out in droves."

Anybody who adopts a dog from Animal Services in August -- either from the adoption event or the shelter -- can post a picture and story of the dog to the Animal Services Facebook page by the end of the month and the person who gets the most likes and shares wins a limo ride with the dog to all the county dog parks, Crawford said.

Some relief at the shelter

The event was able to provide some limited relief for the overcrowded Palmetto shelter, which has had as many as 160 animals in the shelter intended to hold 80 animals, Hutchison said. On Monday, Hutchison said there are about 110 animals at the Palmetto shelter.

"What a relief on Manatee County Animal Services staff to come in (Monday) and have some empty kennels," Hutchison said. "We are significantly over where we need to be. We are not letting up. We are pushing like crazy."

Crawford said she is working on some more events for the fall to get "people there that wouldn't normally come."

The "Monster Mutt Dalmation" monster truck donation from Feld Motor Sports helped bring a lot of families to the event Saturday, Crawford said.

"We are just so lucky that they made that happen for us," Crawford said.

The monster truck coupled with the flyball tournament helped pull people in, Hutchison said.

Fun pet adoption event

"It was just a fun thing to do and a fun place to be for Saturday and Sunday," Hutchison said.

The event promotion helped with the great turnout, Royal said.

"I believe they did a wonderful job with publicity," she said. "The marketing was excellent."

Seven dogs from Bishop Animal Shelter were adopted at Adopt-a-Palooza, according to Maggie White-Domain, kennel manager.

"I don't think we've had that much success at any of the events we've done so it was awesome," she said. "We brought some dogs that were a little bit less adoptable. They got a chance to let their personality show when out in public. ... We had a lot of fun at the event. We would definitely do it again."

Claire Aronson, Manatee County reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7024 or at caronson@bradenton.com. Follow her on Twitter @Claire_Aronson.

This story was originally published August 4, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Pet Adopt-a-Palooza slightly reduces overcrowding at Palmetto shelter."