Adopt-a-Dog Month celebrated

The Bloomington Animal Shelter is organizing Adopt-a-Dog Month during October to promote dog adoptions from shelters.

“You can get a great dog from a shelter,” said Virgil Sauder, manager of the Bloomington Animal Shelter. “We have some wonderful dogs here to adopt.”

In honor of this month, dog adoptions are dropped to $40, and all dogs are vaccinated, heartworm tested, spayed or neutered and microchipped.

Adoptions also come with a free bag of food and a free vet visit to any veterinarian in Bloomington.

Finding a perfect pet match for customers is a serious job for the shelter.
To accomplish this, the shelter provides adoption counseling to its customers, which helps to place them with the right animal.

Some people like animals with stronger personalities and who are active, but other people like calmer animals that can lounge around, said Jenny Gibson, volunteer coordinator for the Bloomington Animal Shelter.

“I enjoy big dopey cats and dogs, but it’s all about what you’re looking for and falling in love with that particular animal,” she said.

Those who adopt a dog during the month of October will be entered in a raffle to win a gift basket with dog toys, treats and obedience class certificates from Mad4MyDog Training in Elletsville, Ind., and Applied Canine Behaviors in Bloomington.

During October, shelter volunteers often take animals to different locations to raise awareness of shelter adoption and other outreach.

Adopting a dog from a shelter versus a pet store or puppy mill has many benefits to both the animal and the community, Gibson said.

“If you go to a pet store, a lot of the dogs aren’t spayed or neutered, and some of the animals are not responsibly bred,” Gibson said. “We make sure our adoptable animals are healthy and ready for homes.”

This year, the shelter has taken animals to the Bloomington Farmer’s Market on Saturdays.

The shelter will be participating in an event called “Arfpocalypse” which will take place Oct. 27 at Klipsch Music Center in Noblesville, Ind. It will be Indiana’s largest dog adoption event.

Participants and shelters register their dogs and bring them dressed in costumes in order to break the Guinness World Record for largest costumed dog gathering.
There will be music from Here Come the Mummies, a Nashville, Tenn. based funk/R&B band that performs in mummy costumes. The event will also provide food and dogs available for adoption.

“The biggest benefit is companionship,” Gibson said. “A dog is someone who loves you unconditionally. It really enriches someone’s life to have that kind of love.”