National Pet Day Highlights Joys of Having Animal Friends

National Pet Day Highlights Joys of Having Animal Friends

by | Apr 10, 2021 | Events, Features, News

Portland, OR. This year, National Pet Day is on Sunday, April 11th, 2021. Whether you have a dog, cat, bird, fish, horse, rabbit, chicken, snake, hamster, or any other pet, you can celebrate the special day. National Pet Day was established in 2006 by animal welfare advocate Colleen Paige. Her mission was to put a spotlight on the joy pets bring to their owners’ life, as well as bring attention to the ongoing needs of many pets waiting in shelters to find their forever homes. 

According to the CDC, there are plenty of health benefits that come along with owning a pet. Some include decreased blood pressure, decreased cholesterol levels, decreased feelings of loneliness, as well as increased opportunities for socialization, exercising, and outdoor activities.

Owning a pet brings along responsibilities. Some of these basic responsibilities include making sure your pet is fed, watered, and their habitat is safe and caters to your pet’s specific needs.

One popular way to celebrate National Pet Day is by posting a picture of you and your pet on your social media using #NationalPetDay. You can get as creative as you’d like and set up a photo shoot to get the best selfie of your pet. Or you could simply snap a candid and post about why your pet is so important to you.

National Pet Day is an excellent time to do some updates for your pets:

  • Go through your pet’s toys. Throw away any items that are no longer safe.
  • Maintain your pet-friendly home. Keep cords and toxins secure from your four-legged friends. This includes phone chargers.
  • Verify when vaccinations are due and schedule an appointment to update if they are due.
  • Check collars to ensure tags are secure and numbers are current. We sometimes forget to update this information when we move or change numbers.

The Oregon Humane Society has lots of pets to adopt. Below are some details about adoption:

During this time, our shelter is closed for public walk-through viewing. Adoptions are available by appointment only. We will email you a scheduling link if you are first in line for a pet. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we find homes for pets as quickly and efficiently as possible. Stay safe, stay healthy!

The Adoption Process:

Step 1: Submit an adoption questionnaire. Pet profiles are available on our Adopt page. New pets are usually posted daily between 6-7 p.m. Read through the profiles carefully to see which pet you are interested in adopting.

  • At the end of each pet’s profile, you will see a link to a questionnaire for that pet. Click the link to fill out an online questionnaire for that pet and submit it to OHS.
  • You will need to submit a questionnaire for each animal you are interested in.

Step 2: Schedule an adoption phone consultation. If you are first in line for a pet, our Adoption team will email you a scheduling link to set up a time to talk on the phone to discuss the pet’s specific needs and whether the pet will be a good fit for your lifestyle. If you provide your mobile phone number on the adoption questionnaire, we will also text you a link to notify you that you are first in line. We will be sending out two rounds of emails daily: once in the morning and once in the early afternoon.

  • Please add [email protected] to your address book to ensure you don’t miss any important communications from us.
    • If you are a Gmail or Comcast user, please be sure to check your spam/junk folders.
  • We process adoption questionnaires on a first received, first-served basis. We recommend you continue to monitor your email as the first person does not always end up adopting. You will receive email notification once the pet has been adopted and your questionnaire is no longer valid.
  • Scheduling links will only be valid for 4 hours after the email is sent. If you do not schedule your appointment before the link expires, we will move on to the next person in line.
  • Please allow a 5-minute window to receive your call at your scheduled time. Please make sure your phone is on. You can expect us to be calling from (503) 285-7722.

Step 3: Schedule a meet & greet/adoption appointment. If you are ready to move forward with the adoption after your phone consultation, an appointment will be set up for you to meet with the pet. There is a $20 non-refundable hold fee to set an appointment for a meet and greet.

  • For your convenience, we also offer contactless adoptions for eligible pets. The decision for a contactless adoption can be made during the phone consultation.
  • You will only be able to meet with one pet during your appointment to minimize the amount of in-person contact with staff. You will have to wear a mask for the duration of your visit to OHS. We are limiting in-person meet and greets to 30 minutes or less.

Step 4: Take your new pet home! For more information about what is included in your new pet’s adoption, please head on over to our Adoption Support page.

View our available pets here.

Adoption Information
About Our Pets

Due to the high volume of calls, we are unable to provide specific animal information over the phone if you call in. Please look at each individual animal profile to learn more. The best place to view the most up-to-date information is on the OHS website. To ensure the most up-to-date and accurate reflection of animals available for adoption, we do not feed to third party sites like petfinder.com or adopt-a-pet.com.

Adoption Fees
OHS is a private, nonprofit organization that relies on individual donations, grants and our own fundraising to operate. We do not receive any federal, state or government funding.Adoption fees help offset some of the costs associated with providing for the animals in our care – this includes housing, food, medical care, enrichment, behavior modification and more. We use variable pricing and the adoption fee for each animal is dependent on many factors including age, breed and health of the individual animal.Adoption fees range from $55 to $600 for dogs and $15 to $200 for cats. The adoption fee for each animal is included in their animal profile.
Adoption Process
Who should meet my new pet?
At this time, due to COVID, we are asking that only the household decision-makers come to meet the pet you are interested in adopting. We are currently limiting the number of visitors per interaction. Please work with your adoption counselor if you feel there is need for additional family members to meet the pet. The adoption counselor will help you determine what is appropriate and how we can best accommodate your needs.We do not offer cat-to-cat introductions, rabbit-to-rabbit introductions or interspecies introductions. We do encourage bringing your dog in to meet any dog you are considering adopting. For all dog/puppy adoptions, we require you have a leash or crate to take the pet home, so don’t forget to bring yours from home if you already have one.
How can I be first in line for a pet?
We encourage you to check the website between 6-7 pm and submit a questionnaire as soon as possible to have the best chance of being first in line for a pet. If a client ahead of you places a hold for adoption, you will be notified via email and the pet will be removed from the website. *Some animals will be made available outside of the 6-7 pm timeframe, so it is always a good idea to continue to watch our website throughout the day. You can adjust the “sort by” filter to look at the most recent animals.
Understanding Your Pet
Icons

You may notice that some animals have icons underneath their profile photo. Here’s what the icons mean.

How We Assess Our Animals
Age: The age of an animal is subjective and approximate, but we look at their teeth, body condition and behavior.Behavior: Animals are assessed by highly trained staff to see how the animal responds to things such as handling, walking on leash and meeting other animals in the shelter. Relevant information is gathered and offered to potential adopters as tools for education. The evaluations by our staff are by no means comprehensive and guarantees of behavior. Environment plays a significant role in an animal’s behavior, their behavior is subject to change once the animal is in a different environment. OHS staff do their best to find great matches for all of our adopters along with plenty of post adoption support and resources.If you need additional support with your adopted pet, please visit our OHS Resource Library or contact our Training Department.Medical: Not all of our animals are seen by a veterinarian. At the time of intake, all animals will be looked over by a technician to inspect their coat and skin, ears, eyes, mouth, teeth and gums and their weight. If there is a concern, a request will be submitted to have a veterinarian look at the animal.Breed: The breed of an animal is subjective, but our highly trained staff uses their expertise to assign a breed that best fits the animal.Previous Owner Questionnaire: All owner surrendered animals will have a previous owner questionnaire that will tell you what the previous owner wants you to know about their pet. This will go home with the animal at time of adoption.
Second Chance
OHS works with more than 92 shelter partners across the Northwest, California and reaching as far as Louisiana. Learn more about this program.

Contact Info:

Main Phone Line: (503) 285-7722 (10 am – 6 pm)

Admissions: (503) 285-7722 x 212

Customer Care: (503) 285-7722 x 254

Donations: (503) 802-6793

Contact Us

Can’t find what you’re looking for? Please send us a message.

Be More Humane

Thank you for wanting to adopt a pet from the Oregon Humane Society. At OHS, we imagine a place where kindness and love prevail. A society in which all beings have a place, a purpose, and a sense of belonging. We are on a mission to create this society, a more humane society, and we need your help. Find out how you can be more humane.