New Yorkers, Grab your Leashes and Cat Carriers! 'Adoptapalooza' Returns to Washington Square Park on Sunday, September 12

About the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals

The Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals, Inc., founded in 2002 and powered by Maddie's Fund, The Pet Rescue Foundation, with support from the ASPCA, is a coalition of more than 150 animal rescue groups and shelters working with Animal Care & Control of New York City (AC&C) to end the killing of healthy and treatable cats and dogs at AC&C shelters. To achieve that goal, the Alliance, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, helps its Alliance Participating Organizations (APOs) work to their highest potential to increase pet adoptions and spay/neuter rates, with the goal of transforming New York City into a no-kill community by 2015.

www.AnimalAllianceNYC.org

About Maddie's Fund

Maddie's Fund, The Pet Rescue Foundation, is a family foundation funded by Workday and PeopleSoft Founder Dave Duffield and his wife, Cheryl. Maddie's Fund is helping to create a no-kill nation where all healthy and treatable shelter dogs and cats are guaranteed a loving home. To achieve this goal, Maddie's Fund is investing its resources in building community collaborations where animal welfare organizations come together to develop successful models of lifesaving; in veterinary colleges to help shelter medicine become part of the veterinary curriculum; and in the implementation of a national strategy to promote accountability and transparency in animal shelter operations. Maddie's Fund is named after the family's beloved Miniature Schnauzer who passed away in 1997.

www.MaddiesFund.org

About PEOPLE Pets

PEOPLEPets.com is PEOPLE magazine's website for animal lovers and their most adorable friends — their pets! More than half a million unique users turn to PEOPLE Pets each month to catch up on the latest celebrity animal news, read inspirational rescue stories, share insanely cute pet photos, watch funny pet videos, and meet thousands of other pet fanatics in our active community. Join today and be one of the thousands of people making new friends on PEOPLEPets.com.

www.PEOPLEPets.com

Media Contact

Jessica Del Guercio

M. Silver Associates

Phone: (212) 754-6500 x237

E-mail: jessica@msilver-pr.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

New Yorkers, Grab your Leashes and Cat Carriers! "Adoptapalooza" Returns to Washington Square Park on Sunday, September 12

Featuring Over 100 Cats and Dogs for Adoption!

New York, NY – Tuesday, August 17, 2010 – Following on the heels of the success of New York City's first Adoptapalooza in May, the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals is pleased to announce that this free, fun-filled community pet adoption event will return to Washington Square Park on Sunday, September 12, from 11:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. The event will be sponsored by PEOPLE Pets (www.PEOPLEPets.com), PEOPLE magazine's website for animal lovers and their pets.

More than 50 dogs and cats from area rescue organizations that participate in the Mayor's Alliance won the hearts of New Yorkers and found new loving homes at the first Adoptapalooza. The upcoming end-of-summer Adoptapalooza will be bigger and better, featuring more than 100 cats and dogs for adoption from Animal Care & Control of NYC (AC&C), Bideawee, Sean Casey Animal Rescue, and the Picasso Veterinary Fund of the Mayor's Alliance. These cats and dogs will be featured on North Shore Animal League America mobile adoption vans.

A new addition to the upcoming event is the participation of breed-specific rescue groups, part of the New York Breed Rescue Network (NYBRN) of the Mayor's Alliance, that will offer a variety of purebred (or nearly pure) dogs for adoption! A listing of these breed rescue groups will be featured on the Adoptapalooza website (www.AdoptapaloozaNYC.org) soon.

Other event highlights will include a Silly Pet Tricks Contest for people and their pets, as well as photos with Maddie, the six-foot Miniature Schnauzer mascot for Maddie's Fund, The Pet Rescue Foundation. Event-goers will also have the opportunity to win great raffle prizes, get photos of their pet, and get answers to their questions from a veterinarian, trainer, groomer, and other pet experts onsite. The Mayor's Alliance will provide valuable information about pet adoption, free and low-cost spay/neuter services in NYC, microchipping, dog licensing, and more!

Last year, through the efforts of the Mayor's Alliance and its 150-plus participating shelters and rescue groups (including AC&C), euthanasia at AC&C shelters was reduced to 33 percent of intake, representing a 57 percent decrease in euthanasia since 2003, the first year of operation for the Mayor's Alliance.

For those interested in adopting a Little New Yorker, please visit the Pet Adoption page of the Mayor's Alliance website for a full list of Alliance participating shelters and rescue groups.

Follow Adoptapalooza on Facebook or visit www.AdoptapaloozaNYC.org for more information.

Photos

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