Home for the Holidays

Town seeks loving homes for pets

Posted

Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray cited famed singer Perry Como when announcing the start of a free pet adoption program at the town’s animal shelter: “There’s no place like home for the holidays.”

This year’s Home for the Holidays adoption initiative kicked off on Nov. 19 on the front lawn of Ed and Laura Ra’s Garden City South home. The state assemblyman and his wife adopted a mini-poodle from the shelter last year during the same program, an annual event to increase pet adoptions.

Through Jan. 4, all fees will be waived for pet adoptions from the Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter on Beltagh Avenue in Wantagh. There will also be free spaying or neutering, rabies vaccinations, microchipping and testing for feline AIDS and leukemia.


“What better time than the holidays to adopt a cuddly and loving pet into your family, without cost, without delivery, without delay,” Murray said.

There are nearly 200 cats and dogs available for adoption, Murray said, adding that animal shelter staff will help a family find the right pet for their home. Anyone is welcome to come to the shelter and adopt a pet, even residents who don’t live in the Town of Hempstead.

“They will not pay any fees,” Murray said, “literally not a penny to a adopt a dog or cat.”

Murray said that the Home for the Holidays program has been successful in the past. Last year’s pet adoption drive helped more than 200 dogs and cats find homes. That is in addition to the more than 300 pets that were adopted during the 2014 Summer of Love initiative, another period when the shelter waives its fees.

Anyone adopting a pet will receive gifts from participating animal services businesses. Jo-Mar Grooming and Boarding in Floral Park is offering coupons for free dog grooming. Free exams are also being offered — The Cat Doctor of New Hyde Park for felines, and the New Hyde Park Animal Hospital for canines.

Ed and Laura Ra, who adopted Carter, now 2, encourage residents to take advantage of a program that brought them much joy. They adopted the dog the Saturday after Thanksgiving last year. “He’s brought a tremendous amount of happiness and love to our home,” Ra said. “We couldn’t be happier to have him as a member of our family.”

Animal adoption hours are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays an Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursdays from noon to 8 p.m., and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pets up for adoption can be found on the shelter’s website at www.toh.li/animal-shelter.