Posted: January 20, 2010, 3 a.m. EST
After setting its most aggressive pet adoption goal to date — 1.5 million animals — Iams Home 4 the Holidays announced that 1,363,638 animals were adopted through the global program in its 2009-10 season.
Between Oct. 1, 2009 and Jan. 4, 2010, more than 3,500 animal organizations and Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank, the program ambassador, worked together in a massive effort to reduce pet homelessness.
"I'm proud to be part of such an amazing cause and I hope the many families who adopted through the IH4TH program will experience the same unconditional love and fulfillment my dogs Karoo and Rumi give me every day," said Swank. "I hope our success inspires everyone to get involved and continue to help eradicate pet homelessness because there are millions of animals who still need our help and we all have the ability to help make a difference."
Since 1999, with the support of participating animal organizations from 17 countries, IH4TH has been one of the world's largest and most successful pet adoption programs. The following animals were adopted this year:
- 729,357 dogs
- 588,265 cats
- 46,016 other animals (including rabbits, reptiles, horses, birds and more)
"Every year I continue to be inspired by the outpouring of love and commitment I see as millions of people experience the joy of pet adoption," said Mike Arms, founder of IH4TH and president of Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., which helped to launch IH4TH at its inception in 1999. "Not only has IH4TH made a tremendous impact on pets, we've improved the lives of people who work tirelessly with animal organizations around the world to help homeless animals every day."
To ensure adoptions are successful for pet parents and their new four-legged family members, everyone who adopted through the program received an Iams adoption kit and DVD loaded with important information about nutrition, training and proper care.
"All of us at Iams are committed to helping orphaned pets and we'll continue to aggressively work with participating animal organizations to make sure they have the tools and support they need so that more animals find loving homes," said Dan Rajczak, senior vice president of Global Snacks and Pet Care.
The 2010 program will kick off on Oct. 1, but there are plenty of ways to get involved now. To learn more about how to make a difference in the life of an orphaned pet, including finding participating shelters, volunteering or making a donation to support animal organizations and pets awaiting new homes, visit the Iams website.