Islip Highlights Shelter Animals During National Adoption Month

BAY SHORE, NY - Throughout the month of May, the Islip Animal Shelter has been hosting a National Adoption Month event to try to get their animals adopted.

The event, which will continue throughout the end of the month, will offer residents a discount on the available animals at the shelter, located on S. Denver Avenue in Bay Shore, which includes dogs, cats, rabbits and guinea pigs.

"We're really very excited to participate," Islip supervisor Angie Carpenter told Patch. "It's an exciting opportunity to see some of the dogs in our shelters find their forever home."

The shelter has eliminated the adoption fee and licensing fees and now those who want to adopt just have to pay $70 for dogs and cats and $10 for rabbits and guinea pigs.

There are a total of 53 dogs, 8 cats, 7 rabbits and 4 guinea pigs available for adoption. However, the shelter is housing over 120 animals, some of which are not yet ready to be adopted.

This isn't the first event the shelter has done to encourage people to come to the shelter and promote their animals. The shelter has hosted doggy fashion shows, free rabies clinics and more.

"We really do try to engage the public and let them know that we are there and taking good care of those animals and hoping someone will take them home," Carpenter said.

West Islip resident Mary Infante adopted her dog Flint from the shelter in February. She went in "just to take a look" at the pets available after her last dog unfortunately passed away.

Patch photo

"You cannot walk into the shelter just to look because every one of those dogs will get your heart and you will have to go home with at least one."

Flint, who is now 2-years-old, had been in the shelter for over a year before being lucky enough to find his forever home with Infante. And 3 months later, he is doing extremely well in his new home.

"For a year in a shelter he was very acclimated to being in a house," she said. "He is a good boy and quick learner."

When it was time to go home, the shelter volunteers gave Flint a proper goodbye.

"He went around from desk to desk to desk saying goodbye to everyone," she said. "Everyone knew him and everyone was really genuinely happy to see him go."

The Christie family also adopted their dog Kali in February. When they first adopted her, she was tough but the family has since gotten her a teacher/trainer and a runner. She is now 50 pounds of "enthusiastic, boisterous muscle."

"She is still all puppy, having been caged for the entire first year of her life, and she enjoys learning sign language and word commands," Kali's owner, Theresa Christie, said.

Photo courtesy of Theresa Christie