Ithaca (WSYR-TV) - At a time when many animal shelters are struggling to reduce the number of dogs and cats in their care, one local shelter is seeing tremendous success. Thanks to an annex in the Ithaca Mall, 1,002 pets have been adopted at the SPCA in Tompkins County during the past 16 months.
Executive Director of the SPCA, Abigail Smith, says the mall annex is a big reason why so many pets are being placed in happy homes. "The mall, unsuspecting visitors walk by, see a kitten, and before you know it, cats adopted. We were able to capture an audience we didn't have otherwise," she said.
In addition, the increased turnover of animals is keeping the SPCA's shelter from overcrowding. "Our numbers are down, cats are healthier, and they go very quickly to good homes," Smith said.
Despite the location in the mall, SPCA management says people still must go through the regular adoptive process to ensure they aren't making a spur of the moment decision.
Recently, the shelter has also benefitted from generous donors. The family of Lee Strebel, who passed away when he was 15, plans to donate $10 per pet adopted by the middle of February. Lee's dog Fido and cat Lightning were both adopted from the shelter.
"He was a huge animal lover, my partner in crime, we knew this would be something he would endorse," Lee's mother, Leslie Strebel, said.
