PET PROJECT; MOBILE UNIT WILL TAKE ADOPTION OF HOMELESS DOGS, CATS TO THE PUBLIC.Byline: David Greenberg The creator of this article, or someone who has substantially contributed to it, may have a conflict of interest regarding its subject matter. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Staff Writer Thanks to five local teen-agers, the dogs and cats who spend their days cooped up in animal shelter "Dog Pound" redirects here. For the rap group, see Tha Dogg Pound. An animal shelter is a facility that houses homeless, lost or abandoned animals; primarily a large variety of dogs and cats. cages will now be riding in style to weekend adoption sites. A $11,500 Mobile Pet Adoption Pet adoption usually refers to the process of taking guardianship of and responsibility for a pet that a previous owner has abandoned or otherwise abdicated responsibility for. Unit, unveiled Wednesday, comes complete with insulated cages, windows on every door and a 25-gallon water tank, and will soon be transporting these critters to their potential new homes. ``It's like the Rolls-Royce of mobile animal units,'' said Bruce Richards, manager of the Agoura Animal Shelter, which just received the trailer after a year of program planning. ``It's designed mostly for their comforts. Once the public knows we have this, we will escalate the program so that we'll have more places to go and more pets will be adopted.'' The gift comes from five 14-year-olds, billed as the Animal Crackers Animal crackers are a popular children's snack, in which the crackers are shaped like zoo animals. Animal Crackers may also refer to:
The teens chose the shelter for their charity work because they wanted to help find homes for as many pets as possible. ``We all care about the animals because a lot of them are being abused or abandoned,'' said Gray. ``It makes me feel better that the animals are being rescued so they don't have to be put to sleep.'' Some 65 percent of the 5,000 pets the shelter takes in come from owners who no longer can care for them, while 35 percent are strays, officials said. Although the shelter strives to find homes for all its temporary residents, 19 percent are terminally ill Terminally Ill When a person is not expected to live more than 12 months. Notes: Any gifts given out by the afflicted person at this time may be considered as a dispersion of the estate rather than a gift. or badly injured and must be destroyed, they said. But at adoption sites each weekend, shelter volunteers find homes for six to eight dogs and cats - plus an occasional bird, snake, raccoon raccoon, nocturnal New World mammal of the genus Procyon. The common raccoon of North America, Procyon lotor, also called coon, is found from S Canada to South America, except in parts of the Rocky Mts. and in deserts. or rabbit - at one of several rotating Conejo Valley locations. During the Conejo Valley Days six-week campaign, the Animal Crackers group raised $25,479 by hosting a dance, selling candy bars and other fund-raisers, winning the fund-raising competition. Of their funds raised, 40 percent are earmarked toward Conejo Valley Days designated charities. But that's nothing new for the Animal Crackers - they raised $6,300 the year before, $3,700 of which also went to the shelter. ``We're all winners, regardless, because the charity wins,'' said Asia. ``Everyone has a special place in their hearts for animals. And animals can't specifically speak for themselves. So we have to speak for them.'' CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Asia Sepe, 14, holds her cocker spaniel cocker spaniel, breed of small sporting dog developed from English cocker spaniels brought to the United States in the 1880s. It stands from 14 to 15 in. (35.6–38.1 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about 25 lb (11.3 kg). , Taffi, at the Mobile Pet Adoption Unit. (2 -- 3) Above, a dog offered for adoption administers a big, wet kiss from his cage in the Mobile Pet Adoption Unit. Right, Bruce Richards of the Agoura Hills Animal Shelter talks about the Mobile Pet Adoption Unit, which was unveiled Wednesday. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News |
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