SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - California Animal Welfare Association (CalAnimals), the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SF SPCA) and the ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) announced the results of the first-ever California Adopt-a-Pet Day, with 3,609 pets adopted into loving homes on June 1. 

The day-long event included more than 170 animal welfare organizations across the state working collaboratively to nearly double the original goal of finding homes for 2,024 pets. 

The ASPCA provided funds to cover the cost of the adoptions at participating shelters so that they were free to the public. 

Of the 3,609 total pets adopted on California Adopt-a-Pet Day, there were 1,977 cats, 1,541 dogs, and 91 others, including rabbits, guinea pigs, and other small animals. 

One of the pets matched with a loving family was a dog named Nelly, a 3.5-year-old mastiff mix, who had been in the care of Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter (FAAS) for 1.5 years after originally arriving at the shelter as a stray. Described by shelter staff as being sweet and shy, Nelly was finally matched with an adopter on California Adopt-a-Pet Day after San Ramon resident, Sahiba Singh, traveled 40 minutes to meet Nelly after seeing her on the shelter’s social media. Within a couple of minutes of meeting, Nelly, who normally takes a long time to warm up to strangers, was sitting on Singh’s feet. Nelly, now nicknamed Nelly Bean, was quickly adopted by Singh and is happily settling in to her new home. 

“Her little lopsided face is perfect. She jumped out at me immediately. I read that she was shy and needed a quiet home. We have that. I had to meet her,” said Singh. “She’s so happy here, and we love her so much. We’re going to give her a lifetime of reasons to wag.” 

“I’m overwhelmed with gratitude by the number of Californians that visited their local shelter on June 1, and am thrilled to find that for many, this was their very first time adopting a shelter pet,” said Jill Tucker, CEO of CalAnimals. “Our shelters are overcrowded with a variety of wonderful animals just waiting for people to come and meet them, and it is our greatest hope that members of the public will visit shelters first when they are ready for a new pet. I want to thank all the shelters for participating in this wonderful event to promote adoptions and extend my sincere gratitude to the ASPCA and San Francisco SPCA for making this event possible. We have illustrated that by working together, we can truly make a difference.” 

In recent years, California shelters have faced a large influx of animals as the result of ongoing challenges facing pet owners, including economic hardships, the difficulties of accessing pet-friendly housing and the lack of affordable veterinary care due to the shortage of veterinarians. 

These challenges often force families to have to make the difficult choice to part with their pets and have prevented many families from adopting new pets. 

California has one of the highest rates of renters in the country, and housing is one of the largest barriers for families being able to keep or adopt a pet.

California Adopt-a-Pet Day was managed by CalAnimals, which focuses on the success of California animal welfare and sheltering organizations in meeting the needs of animals and people in their communities. 

The next California Adopt-a-Pet Day will be in June 2025.