Transport with Operation Kindness Inspires Special Fee-Waived “Texas Home ‘Em” Adoptathon
BOSTON, May 30, 2024 – The future is bright for 39 dogs recently brought to the Northeast Animal Shelter in Massachusetts from Texas—one of the states hit hardest by the ongoing national dog population crisis.
The flight—arranged by the ASPCA—is the first collaboration between the MSPCA and Operation Kindness, a lifesaving animal shelter in Carrollton, Texas. The plane arrived at Hanscom Field in Bedford on the afternoon of May 25.
“This is the beginning of what we hope will be a longstanding relationship that will help hundreds of animals, and it couldn’t have started at a better time,” said MSPCA-Angell Vice President of Animal Protection, Mike Keiley.
“Texas is one of the toughest states in the country when it comes to pet overpopulation, especially dogs, and Operation Kindness has been working extraordinarily hard to do everything in its power to help,” he elaborated.
“But the dog population crisis is a problem that requires everyone in animal welfare to band together to address, and this partnership is a perfect example of that.”
Two Organizations—One Mission
Operation Kindness takes in and rehomes pets surrendered by their owners while also acting as a so-called way-station for more than 100 partners in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.
“Operation Kindness is really unique in that it’s tackling the biggest animal welfare problems facing the South right now—and those are huge problems,” Keiley expanded. “They’re providing a lifeline to big municipal shelter systems, like Dallas Animal Services, by taking in some of their animals.”
Keiley estimates that shelter system alone takes in an average of more than 100 animals every single day.
“Dallas Animal Services is a prime example of the enormous challenge the entire state of Texas is up against. It’s dealing with the largest pet overpopulation problem of any state in the country, second only to California.”
“Given that rehoming such an immense number of animals locally is next to impossible, we knew we needed to step up and shift resources there,” added Keiley. “We’re helping Operation Kindness continue its lifesaving work by bringing dogs here to Massachusetts, where there are more adoptive homes.”
“Together, we’ll be able to save many lives and help families here find pets that will complete their homes.”
Texas Home ‘Em!
The Operation Kindness dogs range in age from two-months to three-years-old. They are a variety of breeds and sizes, including Chihuahuas, Poodle mixes, Hound mixes, and Pit Bull mixes.
They are also the inspiration behind the MSPCA’s next fee-waived adoption event—called Texas Home ‘Em—for all dogs aged one and older that weigh at least 40 pounds—because everything is bigger in Texas.
“We’ve been saying for a long time that the dog population crisis is a national problem that’s quickly reaching a breaking point,” said Keiley. “In order to fight it, we all in animal welfare need to do everything we can to rehome dogs faster, and adoption events like Texas Home ‘Em are key in doing that.”
The adoptathon will be held during open hours at the MSPCA’s shelters in Boston, Methuen, Salem, and Centerville on Cape Cod, beginning June 3 at the Northeast Animal Shelter, June 4 at the other three locations, and running through June 9 at all shelters.
It’s the first of three special summer adoption events the MSPCA plans to hold in the coming months.
“The summer is a time when stray animal populations tend to spike and these adoption events have proven success at finding a lot of dogs homes in a short period of time,” Keiley added.
“So, we’re planning to hold them throughout the summer to ensure that we’re able to continue taking dogs in from other parts of the country, like Texas, that are desperate for help without our own population skyrocketing.”
The MSPCA will announce details of future adoption events as they are finalized. More information on the Texas Home ‘Em adoptathon may be found at mspca.org/dogs.
