Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/clear-the-shelters-2022/
When Itty Bitty was rescued in Florida, the orphaned kitten’s mother was nowhere in sight. Fortunately, the tiny kitten was nursed back to health with the help of a foster parent, who bottle-fed Itty Bitty to help him survive those critical first days without his mom.
Now Itty Bitty has grown into a cute, healthy, and playful kitten preparing to take another big step! In August, Itty Bitty will be joining approximately 200 at-risk cats and dogs flying to safety on special flights timed to coincide with the annual Clear the Shelters pet adoption campaign!
NBCUniversal Local, Greater Good Charities, The Animal Rescue Site, and Hill’s Pet Nutrition are partnering on two special life-saving pet airlifts on Aug. 2 and Aug. 30 to coincide with Clear The Shelters, NBCUniversal Local’s annual pet adoption and donation campaign in August. Since its inception in 2015, Clear The Shelters has helped more than 700,000 pets find new homes!
Clear The Shelters is also an opportunity to raise money for animal shelters, which are struggling to care for growing numbers of animals as inflation soars. You can help support your favorite shelters by donating through our website.
This year’s Clear The Shelters flights will fly 150 at-risk cats to safety and adoption on Aug. 2, with a second plane carrying 50 at-risk dogs departing from New Orleans on Aug. 30. Both flights will focus on saving harder-to-adopt cats and dogs from overpopulated shelters in Florida and Louisiana, including asymptomatic heartworm-positive shelter dogs, homeless cats, and large dogs. Without these life-saving flights, many of these animals would be at risk for euthanasia.
This includes animals like Ferris and Cameron, two orphaned kittens who were rescued at only a few weeks old. Like Itty Bitty, these newborn kittens were nursed back to health in foster care, where they grew healthy and strong with round-the-clock care and bottle feeding. Now, these playful, affectionate kitties are booked on our Aug. 2 flight, which will fly from Ft. Lauderdale to Massachusetts filled with 150 adoptable cats who are eager to find forever homes!
Our Aug. 2 flight will also include older cats like Sasha and Margo, two shelter BBFs hoping to find a forever home together. Despite taking very different paths to the shelter (12-year-old Sasha was surrendered by her owner due to her age, and 7-year-old Molly was a stray), these sweet gals bonded at the shelter, where they spend all their time together. Now they’re hoping to get adopted together, too!
After our first Clear the Shelters flight lands in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on Aug. 2, the shelter cats will be transported to local shelters where they’ll be evaluated and receive any necessary medical care before being put up for adoption.
As Clear The Shelters draws to a close on Aug. 30, a second plane carrying 50 at-risk dogs will depart from Louisiana, where shelter overcrowding and rampant heartworm infection leave animals at risk. These lucky pups will be airlifted to New Bedford, New Jersey, and then transferred to St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center for treatment and adoption. Stay tuned for more information about our canine fliers!
These airlifts are part of Greater Good Charities’ Good Flights program and funded by Hill’s Pet Nutrition and The Animal Rescue Site, which is also donating much-needed supplies to shelters participating in this year’s pet adoption campaign.
But we can’t clear the shelters this August without help from GreaterGood readers, whose generous support allows us to fund these life-saving flights! Can you make a donation to help us fly Itty Bitty, Cameron, Ferris, Sasha, Molly, and all their shelter friends to safety in August? Just $5 helps us fund 125 air miles for a shelter pet flying on our Clear the Shelters flights. For a limited time, your gift will be matched by Hill’s Pet Nutrition up to $30,000.
Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog
