CLEVELAND—
Hoping to prevent a date with death, animal lovers are going to new extremes to keep cats and dogs alive."If I could take more in, I would really do it," said Erin Brady from Chardon. She's just hours away from a special delivery of kittens. As many as 10 cats in need of a home are making their way from the south after she was asked for help on Facebook. "This family has less than 24-hours to live, they need to be pulled and rescued, urgent," said Erin. "So, I was like, I'll foster them."
With the help of a new Facebook application called Pet Pardon, Erin was connected to people in other states who know of animals on 'death row'. Volunteers connect online and work together to foster animals so they're not euthanized in crowded shelters. "It's probably saved over 2,000 animals at this point, just by showing their pictures and getting it out there," said Erin.
The executive director of the Cleveland Animal Protective League isn't against Facebook pet rescues, but her facility has plenty of animals in need of a home. "Anything that people are doing to help animals, to help find more homes, absolutely applaud that," said Sharon Harvey.
The APL is so over-populated right now, they're letting people name their own adult cat adoption fee for the next few weeks. "We, right now, have more than 300 cats waiting for adoption, just right here at the APL, our population almost doubled in the last month," said Harvey.
The APL lists their animals online, but pet lovers have plenty of other options, including www.fox8.com where you can visit the 'Pet Place' and even list your lost cat or dog. For Erin Brady, it's personal. "It's just such a great way to save so many lives and it is, it's starting, but it needs to get bigger."
Erin is hoping to find a home for the kittens and if you're interested, you can contact her directly at ebrady07@msn.com. Also, additional information on the Cleveland APL can be found at www.ClevelandAPL.org. The APL cat adoption incentive program continues until July 3rd.
