The 4/30 adoption event was a bit more low key than originally anticipated. Attendance was light both by rescues and customers, likely partly due to the rainy and cold weather. The majority of the activity was at the front of the store. Our designated location was at the back of the store, and despite moving a display table with our cat poster and beautiful Mother's Day raffle baskets out into the main aisle, we did not get a lot of foot traffic.

ARF organized the event and had the largest displays of adoptable cats and dogs, including a dog tent outside and inside cages near the front of the store with a number of tiny kittens and even a nursing mom with kittens. So they pretty much stole the show of interested cat adopters. Tails dog rescue also had space at the front of the store and featured a number of puppies as well as dogs. There was face painting and a henna tattoo artist at the front of the store as well as a few pet supply vendors.

Our location at the back of the store was in front of the dog training area. Fortunately it is blocked off behind a glass window, so it was pretty quiet. The cats could just enjoy watching the dogs. The cats likely enjoyed the peace and quiet. We had 8 cats in attendance (Bogie, Bacall, Rumchata, Mini, Patti, Wilson, Boots and Midas). Everyone did very well, but were clearly glad when the long day was over. Mini, in particular, while she was talking and engaging initially, hid under her bed by the end of the event. Patti also told us she had enough by the end of the day.

Lauren was the hero of the day by recruiting our one potential adopter. She was trolling in the ARF area and heard a mom and teenage daughter talking about wanting an adult cat. So she led them to our area. They are a very nice family with a 4 yr old dog. After much discussion about our cats, they decided (and we agreed) that Bogie would likely be the best match. Debbie will be taking him to their house today to see if things work out with the dog. We were also visited by a couple who had expressed interest in either fostering or adopting one of our cats. I will be following up with her.

The event was a learning experience (I will definitely ask more questions before agreeing to another one), but hopefully it will result in a good home for Bogie, which will make it all worthwhile :-) I also wanted to share that Zeke was adopted yesterday by a great single lady looking for a large cat! The meeting was held at Julie's home, so he was not at the event.

Many thanks to the volunteers who helped with the event, including Debbie (who transported all of the cats and helped throughout the event), Lauren (our chief salesperson and helper throughout the event), Sara (who was a big help with the set-up, clean-up, getting the cats into the carriers, and the photography), and Bernie (who helped during the event, did our lunch run, and helped with the clean-up).

Thanks also to our new Feral Fixers volunteer, Edie, for stopping by, getting a view of our adoption events, as well as interacting with some of our guests. Welcome, Edie! Thanks also to Mike for updating the cat binder, Debbie for updating the cat poster, Kim for providing the beautiful Mother's Day raffle baskets, Lauren for providing the handmade blankets for adopters, and Connie and Ted for the great job of promoting the event.

Our next adoption event will be National Adoption Weekend (5/14-5/15) at our regular PetSmart in Rice Lake Square, Wheaton. We will choose a day (Saturday or Sunday) that does not overlap with ARF.