EDWARDSVILLE - During the BISSELL Pet Foundation’s “Empty the Shelters” event in July, the Metro East Humane Society (MEHS) placed 150 pets into their forever homes in only 3 weeks. The nation’s largest funded pet adoption event was hosted in more than 250 shelters in 42 states as an effort to fight shelter overcrowding. This year, the event ended with a record-breaking 28,121 pets being positively impacted.
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"The excitement that reduced-fee adoption drives like #EmptyTheShelters brings to Metro East Humane Society and shelters like ours all across the country is truly something remarkable," said Mady O'Reilly, Development Manager of Metro East Humane Society. "We're thrilled to report a total of 93 cats and 57 dogs have been placed in their forever homes throughout the course of this year's campaign. Those 150 "Gotcha!" Day celebrations were made possible thanks to Cathy Bissell, The Bissell Pet Foundation, and of course, our incredible network of support. Thank you, Cathy Bissell. Thank you, Bissell Pet Foundation. Thank YOU, animal lovers, of the St. Louis Metro East! We can't wait for next year already!"
From July 11th – 31st, MEHS offered $25 adoptions for all cats, kittens, dogs, and puppies at both their Edwardsville and Highland shelters.
"Bissell Pet Foundation is thrilled to have set a new impact record for our Empty the Shelters event during a time when our shelter partners and their pets are struggling with longer stays and slower adoptions," said Cathy Bissell, founder of Bissell Pet Foundation. "We extended our event in direct response to the nationwide crisis. We knew we could save more lives with an additional two weeks of sponsorship, allowing more time for community members to visit their local shelters. We are overjoyed that thousands of pets are now in loving homes thanks to wonderful adopters."
For more information about MEHS and how you can get involved, please visit:
https://www.mehs.org/. You can also follow along with the shelter on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
About MEHS:
MEHS provides adoption, foster, low-cost veterinary services, humane education, and trap-neuter-return services to a five-county area in southwestern Illinois. Throughout its 36-year history, MEHS has placed thousands of dogs and cats with forever families, including more than 892 dogs and cats so far this year. To learn more about MEHS and its mission, please visit www.mehs.org.
About BISSELL Pet Foundation:
BISSELL Pet Foundation is a charitable 501©(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to help reduce the number of animals in shelters through pet adoption, spay/neuter programs, microchipping, and emergency support. Founded in 2011 by Cathy Bissell, BPF is an extension of her long-standing love for animals and commitment to their welfare. BPF has since partnered with more than 5,600 shelters and rescues across the U.S. and Canada to help pets find loving homes. The foundation is supported by generous donors and BISSELL Homecare, Inc where every purchase saves pets. To learn more, visit www.bissellpetfoundation.org.
