The nonprofit organization is waiving pet adoptions fees for veterans on Saturday, November 11, 2023.
Are you past or present military personnel? If so, the SPCA of Texas wants to offer you fee-free pet adoption of an adult dog or cat at the SPCA of Texas Ellis County Animal Care Center on Saturday, November 11, 2023.
Recognizing both the valuable service performed by military personnel and the loving services given by animal companions, the animal welfare organization hopes to find more homes for shelter dogs and cats while creating animal-human friendships that have countless mutual benefits.
“Military personnel are wonderful adopters of shelter animals because oftentimes, when they return to civilian life after serving their country, they need something to fill that void—veterans want to give back,” says Becky Deo, manager of public relations for the SPCA of Texas. “Rescuing a vulnerable cat or dog from a shelter helps a veteran fill that void. It also gives them someone they can train and have fun with. On the other hand, a rescued pet is so relieved and happy to find a loving, forever home, that it will give a veteran unconditional love. That pet will be there whenever its new mom or dad needs them—these shelter pets have a way of knowing when their human is in distress and they certainly know how to comfort the one who loves them.”
Becky also says veterans make for excellent animal caretakers because of they are well acquainted with a life of tending the needs of others and meeting their responsibilities with discipline and competence.
In turn, cats and dogs offer companionship, a motivation to stay physically active, an opportunity to meet other animal caretakers (as in taking a dog to the Wags-a-hachie Dog Park), and for some veterans, a chance to recover from conditions that may have arisen from a PTSD-inducing or physically damaging experience.
To take advantage of the free adoption offer, past and present military personnel must show their military I.D. and adopt the animal they choose from noon – 6:00 p.m. at the shelter that is holding the animal:
SPCA of Texas Ellis County Animal Care Center, 2570 FM Road 878, Waxahachie, TX 75165
SPCA of Texas Dallas Animal Care Center, 2400 Lone Star Drive, Dallas, TX 75212
Dogs and cats adopted from the SPCA of Texas are already spayed or neutered, microchipped and vaccinated, thus saving adopters hundreds of dollars on preliminary veterinarian services.
To view the dogs and cats who are currently available for adoption, visit the SPCA of Texas Find a Pet page.