Countywide : Looking for a Pet? Shelter Can Help

With spring being the peak of “kitten season,” the Orange County Animal Shelter will have its annual Adopt-a-Pet Day on Saturday to help find homes for young felines.

Dogs also will be available for adoption at the event, held in conjunction with national Be Kind to Animals Month.

“It’s usually a very successful event,” said Lt. Mary Van Holt, an animal control officer at the county regional shelter in Orange. She predicted that between 80 and 100 dogs and cats will be placed in homes.

In addition to pet adoptions, the event will showcase working canines from the Sheriff’s Department, the Probation Department, the U.S. Customs Service and the Orange Police Department.

Van Holt said Sheriff’s Department bloodhounds are a big hit with shelter visitors. The dogs, which are used on search-and-rescue missions, are “very approachable and touchable and lovable,” Van Holt said.

Also featured will be demonstrations by the Santa Ana Valley Kennel Club and the Frisbee Dogs. Birds of prey will be on display, and there will be information booths operated by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Animal Assistance League, the Turtle and Tortoise Club and other animal interest groups.

All pets adopted at the event will be entitled to free health examinations provided by members of the Southern California Veterinary Assn.

Adopt-a-Pet activities will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Orange County Animal Shelter, 561 The City Drive. For more information, call (714) 935-6848.