Do It: Whisker Wonderland

Ali is one of the dogs up for adoption at the William Way on Saturday (courtesy of Finding Shelter)

Add a loved one to your life – the four-legged kind – during Whisker Wonderland at the William Way on Dec. 8 (1 – 4 p.m.). Rescue organization Finding Shelter is working with the community center during this gay-friendly pet adoption fair in hopes of finding loving homes for pets.

Deb Francesco, one of the creators of the event (this is the third such adoption event she and her partner have sponsored at the center), says that there will be as many as a dozen dogs up for adoption.

“We will also have photos with Santa, gift items for your pet and an ‘Ask a Vet’ table,” she says, “as well as doggie and kitty gift baskets for auction. Of course, we will have animals from our partnering shelter, including dogs and cats in need of temporary fosters. Our goal is to find permanent homes for all our fosters.”

And while dogs will be the main focus of the fair, Francesco says that kittens and cats are also available at the shelter. “We just don’t have enough volunteers and some of the kitties do not like to be carted to events,” she says.

If you need more convincing, many of these animals come from shelters that frequently euthanize for space. “They also come from owners who can no longer care for them,” says Francesco, “or from owners who are terminally ill and need the peace of mind to know their beloved pets will be safe and loved.”

The shelter also does a lot of work saving and placing companion animals who are unwanted, neglected and released from puppy mills – sadly, Pennsylvania has many of them in nearby Lancaster County.

Of the dogs up for adoption this weekend is an English Bulldog named Ali who was rescued from a puppy mill. “She was in terrible shape when she arrived and lived in a wire crate for most of her life,” says Francesco. But the good news is that this adorable pooch has received the medical treatment she desperately needed, has been spayed, and is thriving with her human and canine friends.

“We have adopted out a few dogs into our community,” she says, “and look forward to getting more doggies strutting around the Gayborhood.”