COLUMBUS (WCMH) — The line was out the door at the Franklin County Dog Shelter Sunday morning as many families waited to find a new dog and give them that forever home.
NBC4’s Elyse Chengery spent time at the shelter getting to know families excited to bring a dog home.
There were 94 dogs up for adoption at the shelter early Sunday morning for Clear the Shelters, part of Max’s Mission to give shelter dogs a forever home. Fifty-one dogs were adopted Sunday.
The cost of adopting a furry friend was reduced to $18. It was an offer that many families just couldn’t pass up on Sunday as they walked through each kennel trying to find the perfect dog. For one particular family, it was all about their 4-year-old son Calvin.
“He’s ready for a dog!” Mercedes Cogar said of her son. “He’s been really excited for a dog, haven’t you? Jumping up and down, ‘I want a dog, I want a dog.'”
They came to look for a dog just the other day and when they heard about the Clear the Shelters deal, they knew they had to come Sunday.
“It makes it easier to go out and get more toys and leashes and things like that versus if I had to pay over $100, it cuts into the welcoming a new member.”
The new member to their family is a pit bull mix named Pecan.
Cogar says she already knows Pecan will fit in with the family and all the adventures they go on.
“A new fishing buddy, a new walking buddy, going to the park, playing outside, jumping in leaves, it would be like a brother or sister huh?!” she asked her son.
Susan Smith is in charge of Community Relations at the shelter.
“Every dog’s unique and you know you’ll find the dog that you adopt is going to have it’s own personality,” she said. “And I think what you’ll also find when you come here and start looking for dogs, that dog is going to pick you and you’re just going to know when you see that dog that that’s your dog.”
“She was friendly, she just took to us,” Cogar explained of Pecan. “It was a connection. It was a bond, It was already there.”
Smith says the Clear the Shelter events really help bring dozens of dogs home.
“There’s nothing more heartwarming for all of us that are spending time here at the shelter than to see a dog finally go home and know that it’s in the right home,” Smith said.
In case you missed Sunday’s event – good news! There are still a lot of great dogs you can come check out here at The Franklin County Dog Shelter.
Here you can see a list of dogs currently up for adoption! http://www.franklincountydogs.com/
