One upside of more people working from home during COVID-19 is the increasing number of pets being fostered or adopted (or, in the case of foster failures, both!)
Indeed, though the pandemic has sadly forced some animal shelters to temporarily restrict their opening hours (or close altogether), there are plenty of happy stories to report. And, thanks to our Paws Across the Pacific mission last October, many happy stories in one go!
From start to finish, the epic airlift involved countless details and numerous staff and volunteers — not to mention nearly 600 adoptable cats and dogs, all bound for new lives in the Pacific Northwest. In addition to financial support, Royal Canin provided premium pet nutrition in Seattle so the hungry travelers could be fed as soon as they touched down.
One of the receiving partners was SpokAnimal, in Spokane, Washington, which helps animals find homes by making them more accessible to adopters through five retail sites, including a Kitty Cantina café. According to Anna Henry at SpokAnimal, it can be challenging to keep these locations filled, so the shelter was only too happy to sign up for some of the furry passengers.
Even before the plane took off from Hawaii, SpokAnimal staff began posting pet profiles on social media in the hopes of catching the eye of potential adopters. And in the case of lucky feline Luna, adopted by Emily in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, it worked!
Anna tells the story best, quipping: “Luna now has a forever home, and all it took was a transpacific flight from Hawaii; ground transport to SpokAnimal; a brief layover for a post-flight wellness treatment; transport to the PetSmart Cat Adoption Center; and a 45-minute drive to her new digs in Idaho! That’s a lot of traveling for anyone, let alone a sweet little three-month old kitten!
“While Luna was logging travel miles, Emily was on a quest to find a companion for her three-year-old tabby, Sonic. SpokAnimal’s Facebook post with profiles of cats from Paws Across the Pacific had Emily happily jumping in her car and crossing the state line in hopes of finding just the right cat.
“Whether Luna was playing hard to get, or simply jetlagged, no one knows, but Emily recalls her sitting at the back of her kennel and ignoring her. Once the kennel door opened, Luna sprang to life. She hopped right out and snuggled into her soon-to-be-new-Mom, her loud purr announcing that she had found her person. According to Emily, that was ‘the’ moment: ‘She had me right there.’”
Luna’s new name is the serendipitous result of Trevor Hall’s Moon/Sun song playing on the radio on the drive back to Coeur d’Alene, and Emily’s bilingual skills. Once home, Luna wasted no time settling in — in less than a day she was comfortable both in her new abode and with Sonic.
Emily is one of the many working from home these days, and though Luna has a bed next to the workspace, she finds Emily’s lap is more to her liking. Luna also enjoys chiming in with Emily’s co-workers during Zoom meetings, running up and down her cat tree, swatting around her bell ball, and getting chicken for snacks.
Emily shared, “I’m beyond grateful to all the people who helped her Luna here. I love her so much. I want all those people to know she has a permanent home now, and that’s never going to change.”
Concludes Anna, “We were thrilled to help with the Paws Across the Pacific effort and connect Hawaii’s over-abundance of animals with demand in our area. We appreciated the fact that they were spayed and neutered prior to transport, and that efforts were made to ensure their health, as this allowed us to get most of them quickly placed in forever homes. Thank you to everyone who supported Greater Good Charities and Paws Across the Pacific.”
