Five dogs and 14 cats — 12 kittens and two adult cats — found their “furever” home at the Animal Care Center’s (ACC) mobile pet adoption drive in College Point on Saturday, July 31.
ACC has been back on the road since the end of May after the COVID-19 pandemic halted all mobile pet adoption drives for more than 14 months.
The events require all participants to wear masks and follow social distancing guidelines. Only one family with a maximum of two people per family are allowed on the their truck, and the browsing time is limited to five minutes.
Prospective pet parents lined the sidewalk outside the College Point Petco, hoping to bring home a four-legged friend.
Irina and her son Simon waited in line with the hopes of adopting one of the kittens.
“We adopted our cat two years ago, and we are looking for a friend,” Irina said.
Stephanie Feliciano, the adoption manager at ACC, explained that animal shelters are “flooded with felines” since summer is kitten season.
“During the summer months, it always picks up with the kittens,” Feliciano said. “Usually, it dies down around, maybe September [or] October, then we don’t see them come in as much.”
Future pet parents have to bring in a photo ID with their address and the adoption fee, which varies depending on the animal and its age.
The fee for kittens under six months is $125, young adults cats $75 and $25 for cats older than 5 years old. For puppies under six months, the rate is $250. For dogs older than seven months, the rate is $75, and for small dogs seven months and over, the cost is $150.
All animals are spayed and neutered, are pre-registered with a microchip, and have received their initial wellness vaccinations. The adoption fee also includes a certificate for a free exam at a participating veterinarian.
Jessica Gallo from Astoria adopted 1-year-old Paolo, a stray who came into the ACC shelter only a week ago.
Gallo explained that her family recently lost their dog and were looking for a new furry friend. She immediately fell in love with the adorable and easygoing pup when she saw him on the ACC website.
“He had this one ear up, one ear down thing, and I was like ‘Oh, my heart,'” Gallo said.
When she found out that the organization was hosting the pet drive, she had to come and “scoop” him up.
“He came right over and leaned into me, and honestly, I feel so comfortable with him,” Jessica shared.
Brothers Tendin and Karma from Jackson Heights adopted a kitten because their landlord doesn’t allow dogs, but mostly because “cats are very cute.”
Tendin said they have yet to decide on a name.
“I want to get to know him and then pick out the name, so it matches him,” Tendin said.
Feliciano said that some of their adoption events have been “bananas,” noting that 300 people lined up at last week’s event in Astoria to find a new best buddy.
“People are just eager to have that pet interaction,” Feliciano said.
Anyone interested in adopting a “boroughbred” cat, dog, rabbit or guinea pig can visit nycacc.org for more information about their mobile pet adoption drives or the adoption process.
