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#AdoptAPupInACup: De Dee's Dairy puts shelter dogs in ice cream cups to help them get adopted

Fri, Jun 26th 2020 10:45 am

Niagara County SPCA has teamed up with De Dee’s Dairy in Niagara Falls on a brand-new #AdoptAPupInACup campaign to help raise funds and get shelter dogs get adopted.

In every “Pup Cup” (a cup filled with vanilla custard and a dog bone for four-legged friends), customers will find a stick with a laminated photo of an adoptable dog from the SPCA attached.

“Pup Cups” are priced at $2.25. De Dee’s will donate $1 from each one sold to the animal shelter.

 “De Dee’s Dairy is ‘MOOVED’ to unite with the dedication and skills of Niagara County SPCA in finding loving pups a ‘furever’ home. As we work together paw in paw, our mission is to help in any way that we can with the release of the #AdoptAPupInACup campaign. The owners and staff are heartfelt about striving for success with this partnership and we truly believe that every animal deserves a loving home,” owners Gary Wilcox, Ryan Wilcox and Bob Urso said in a statement.

 The idea for the #AdoptAPupInACup campaign came about after the success of Niagara County SPCA’s “Pizza + Pups” partnership with Just Pizza in Amherst where adoptable dogs are featured on the pizza boxes year-round. Since it’s summertime, the SPCA decided why not add ice cream into the mix?’

Shelter manager Lauren Zaninovich handmakes the sticks to deliver to De Dee’s throughout the summer in the hopes of getting as many shelter dogs adopted as possible.

 “Here at Niagara County SPCA our job is to find the best homes possible for our shelter animals, but we can’t do it alone. Having community partners like De Dee’s Dairy who want to help make a difference in the lives of our shelter pets means the world and we are incredibly grateful for their kindness and generosity. We hope the community enjoys seeing the photos of our adoptable dogs and we encourage those who purchase a ‘Pup Cup’ to share on social media using #AdoptAPupInACup,” said Kimberly LaRussa, director of community engagement.

County SPCA lays out plans for reopening on July 1

Niagara County SPCA has continued to care for homeless and neglected animals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the animal shelter plans to officially open its doors back up to the public. Starting July 1, the SPCA will welcome visitors inside the building to view adoptable animals. However, some social distancing precautions will still be in place.

Ten people or less will be allowed in the building at a time, and masks will be required. A greeter will welcome visitors to the SPCA. One will no longer need an appointment to view an adoptable animal in the kennels during business hours, but appointments will still be required for those wishing to adopt a dog. Cat adoptions will not require an appointment.

“We look forward to welcoming the public back into our building and we thank everyone for their patience and cooperation during this difficult time. Although we had to move to curbside adoptions and appointment-only services temporarily, we still maintained a high adoption rate. On behalf of everyone at Niagara County SPCA and our shelter animals, we thank you for your support,” Executive Director Tim Brennan said.

Shelter hours will remain noon to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The SPCA will be closed Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday.

SPCA adopts Trap-Neuter-Return policy to protect feral cats

As of July 1, the SPCA will no longer impound healthy feral cats brought to the shelter and no longer trap healthy feral cats for impoundment. Feral cats are not socialized to people and are therefore not adoptable.

Instead of impoundment, the SPCA now promotes trap-neuter-return (TNR) for feral cats. Through TNR, feral cats are humanely trapped, vaccinated and spayed/neutered by a veterinarian.

Veterinary services can be performed for community cats by appointment at the SPCA for a charge of $60, or by appointment, at one of several area cat rescue organizations (prices vary).

The feral cats will also be ear-tipped for identification and returned to their outdoor home.

When other shelters stopped accepting feral cats, the SPCA said it saw immediate benefits: intake numbers decreased, save rates increased, and community support increased. This approach, it said, will free up critical staff time and save the SPCA money, allowing it to focus more on increasing adoption rates, improving shelter conditions and developing (TNR) partnerships with cat rescue organizations in the community.

For more information on any of these announcements and events, visit www.NiagaraSPCA.org.

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