SPCA ADOPTION CENTER AT MALL REMAINS OPEN DUE TO COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY EFFORT
Friday, October 3, 2008
By: Gina Browning, Director of Public Relations, 716-629-3505

Patrons Can Adopt SPCA Pets At Walden Galleria Mall Through December 31

See SPCA Adoption Center mall location and hours/times

Thanks to a concerned local columnist, caring donors, management at a popular shopping location, and people willing to open their homes and hearts to approximately 389 new cats, kittens, and even a few other small animals, the SPCA Serving Erie County enjoyed tremendous success as a result of its six-week off-site adoption center in Cheektowaga's Walden Galleria Mall. Now, because of this success, the SPCA's adoption center run, originally scheduled to last until September 30, will continue through December 31.

Back on August 8, an article written by Buffalo News columnist Donn Esmonde appeared in the daily paper; it was an emotional article detailing the realities of cat overpopulation facing Erie County. The article had a tremendous impact on Richard and Lisa Lewis, who, together with another animal-loving donor, decided to fund a program to encourage end-of-summer cat adoptions, helping to keep the euthanasia number as low as possible. The Lewis' donation, in addition to a generous donation from another animal-loving friend of the SPCA, made the Walden Galleria Mall off-site adoption location possible (read the original story, here) .

Although cats and kittens were still being surrendered to the SPCA by the hundreds each week the off-site adoption center was open, there was hope that somehow, some way, the SPCA would be able to afford necessary treatments and now find room to house as many cats as possible until adoption space opened. The high adoption rate at the Walden Galleria Mall helped make this a reality through September.

Unfortunately, based on years past, SPCA representatives know October still means extremely high surrender rates. Combined with high cat and kitten surrenders is an extremely high number of felines currently in volunteer foster homes. Nearly 500 cats and kittens were surrendered to the SPCA in recent months when there was no room to accept them; to avoid certain euthanasia, volunteers agreed to temporarily house these pets and care for them until space opened to place them up for adoption.

Nobody at the SPCA was looking forward to October, nor November for that matter:  cats and kittens still coming in by the hundreds weekly, 481 foster cats and kittens awaiting an available adoption cage, and the closing of an extremely successful adoption center that, for a short time, served as a reminder that there was light at the end of the tunnel concerning feline placement.

On September 29, the day before the adoption center was scheduled to close, Walden Galleria Mall management approached the SPCA with news that there was a smaller mall shop available for rent through December 31, and that they'd like to work together to keep an SPCA adoption center open there through the holidays.  Donors (including the Lewises and the SPCA's second original donor, as well as donors Nancy Brock and Scott Goldman; The Baird Foundation; Karen Kaczmarski; and Dr. Andrew Rudnick) who were contacted didn't think twice about giving what they could to help the SPCA afford the shop rental and the costs of keeping another location open, especially after realizing what the last six weeks meant to increased cat adoptions.

Now, thanks to this targeted effort on the parts of all involved proving that it takes a collaborative community effort to help fight overpopulation, more spayed and neutered cats and kittens will find warm and loving homes from the fall months throughout the holiday season. SPCA reps can't think of a better way to end 2008, and they're pretty certain their feline friends agree!

The new SPCA off-site adoption center at the Walden Galleria Mall is located on the mall's second floor near Sears, in the DSW Shoes corridor.

Days and hours of shop operation are as follows:
Thursdays and Fridays:  2:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Saturdays:  10:00 am - 9:30 pm
Sundays: 10:00 am - 7:00 pm