Kitsap Humane Society adopted out over 200 animals during its “Mega Match-a-thon” event at the Silverdale shelter Oct. 23-25. Adopters came from all over the state to offer loving homes to precisely 213 cats and dogs of all ages, breeds and sizes during the three-day event sponsored by the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).

KHS Animal Welfare Director Natalie Smith said shelter staff and volunteers couldn’t be happier that the event exceeded the shelter’s goal of adopting out 150 pets. “Our success was due to the community coming together to spread the word far and wide.” Smith said counseling sessions designed to match the right pet with the right adopter ran smoothly, primarily because of the hard work of over 30 staff members and 61 volunteers, who contributed nearly 400 unpaid hours to the effort.

About half to two-thirds of the animals made available for adoption came from the local community. The rest were transferred from overcrowded shelters in Washington, California, Texas and Hawaii by KHS’ life-saving Rescue Me program. And now that Mega Match has freed up kennel space, “we are able to take in even more needy and at-risk animals,” Smith said.

The ASPCA has provided grant funds to KHS and many other shelters across the country to support large-scale adoption events in an effort to save the lives of shelter animals. By partnering with the ASPCA, KHS hoped to raise community awareness about this event and get even more animals into forever homes.