Bring them home: find your four-legged friend at weekend adoption fair

Ashley Hunter
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Each year in the United States, approximately 6.5 million animals enter animal shelters around the nation.
Frequently, animals are turned over to shelters due to the animal encountering health problems or life choices made by their owners (such as a move or change in their employment).
Owners may turn their pets into shelters because the animal grew larger than the owner expected or the pet needed behavioral training that the owner couldn't handle.
Despite the millions of animals that are turned into shelters, looking for a new pet in a shelter is not the primary source of adoption for prospective pet owners.
According to the ASPCA, dog owners are more likely to purchase their pet from a breeder before they adopt from a shelter.
Unlike dogs, however, cats are most frequently adopted from shelters or taken in from friends or family members.
The sad news is that around 1.5 million shelter animals are euthanized each year, and no-kill shelters remain packed with cats and dogs – many times, the influx of animals causes cats and dogs being packed together in order to provide shelter to strays, drop-offs and turn-ins.
On Saturday, January 12, however, area pet shelters and adoption centers will join together to hold the 7th annual Take Me Home pet adoption event.
Jefferson County's Wolf Creek Pet Adoption Center will be one of 13 animal rescue groups that will be present at the event in order to help match prospective owners up with their newest four-legged family addition.
This event will include more than just adorable cats and dogs who are looking for forever homes – if you are already an owner and want to spend time browsing pet-related vendor booths or enjoy a festival environment (complete with food trucks!), this will be a fun event to just turn out to and enjoy supporting an event that seeks to do good for the strays and shelter pets of North Florida.
This event has drawn hundreds of visitors and boasts that over 50 percent of the presented shelter animals find homes by the end of the festival.
In addition to food and vendors, there will be a Barn Hunt dog competition show, spay/neuter vouchers will be available and the mobile blood bus will be present during the festival.
The adoption event will take place at the North Florida Fair Grounds (located at 441 E. Paul Russell Road, in Tallahassee), and will be held from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
For more information about this event and to see which animal rescue organizations and groups will be attending, visit the Take Me Home website at takemehomepetadoption.com.