Five Reasons Missing 'Clear The Shelters' Would Be Catastrophic.

Saturday is August 15th and we're partnering with our friends at NBC for Clear The Shelters. All across the country, shelters will be working with their local NBC affiliate and reducing/waiving adoption fees to try and find every pet in their shelter a home. While we're ecstatic to be on the bus, it occurred to us that some of you might not realize how devastating it would be to miss out on a chance to meet our adoptables.  On the off chance you haven't cleared your schedule yet, here's five reasons you might be kicking yourself for all eternity if you don't. 

1) There Might Be A Chunknugget Puppy Or Two Left. 

Today we shred the bear. Tomorrow we conquer the universe! 

Those of you that follow us on Facebook have been watching these guys grow up week by week in foster care. The good news? They went up for adoption Thursday night. The bad news? They're already getting snapped up. More good news? We have other puppies (and awesome doggies, too!) that will be ready and waiting Saturday morning to meet you. 

2) Kitten-A-Licious!

If this didn't make you go 'awwwww' we don't think you're human. 

Have we mentioned the tsunami of kittens we've been buried under? All those posts looking for nice folks to foster them? The good news? Nice folks did foster them. Now they're back, ready for permanent homes and champin' at the bit to meet you. Kittens don't actually champ at bits (that would be horridly cruel) but they are headbutting things and making muffins with their little paws hoping you'll stop in. Let's not disappoint. 

All four of our locations will be chock full of adorbs kittehs hoping you'll be in to see that making-muffin thing we're talking about. 

3) We Have A Puppy Named Alan Waples. 

Happy birthday Alan! The world needs more folks like you!

And that, ladies and gentleman, is just AWESOME. Yesterday NBC Bay Area popped in to meet some of our hopeful adoptables that will be here on Saturday. The cameraman, Alan, mentioned that he had three rescue dogs and one rescued cat. He also mentioned that it was his birthday. What a cool guy. We had to name this winking pup after him.

Actually all of the NBC folks were so cool that we had to name the whole litter after them. Our Kari Hall won't tell you the weather but she sure is cute. 

4) Future Instagram Star Jocelyn Is Waiting.

Everything can stop now. I'm here. 

We just have one question: how has no one snatched this cat up yet? Not only is she wonderful - a friendly, gentle soul who makes muffins and purrs non-stop - she's also a future social media star waiting to happen. 

Jocelyn was born with deformed eyelids. We removed the bits that hurt so she's fine now but she has a unique look that Twitter is just dying for. Have you people not been watching? How has this cat not been adopted in two weeks? Wake up, folks! Do we need to show you more Jocelyn? 

There needs to be a Project Runway for cats. 

5) This Keeps Happening...

We offered kitty a chilled glass but he insisted on the bottle. 

No, not Carol. Though Carol does keep happening, which makes us happy because she's awesome (she's our President). What keeps happening is the little guy her in hand - the kitten. This keeps happening too...

Eh, I've had worse days. I have a stuffed dog thingy. How bad can life be? 

And this...

Thank you, hooman. 

And, of course, just a whole mess of these...

We'd like to speak with you about that Jocelyn cat getting top billing. 

What they are is animals needing our help. Animals needing some time, some love, maybe some medical assistance, that sort of thing. By adopting tomorrow, you're helping the ones that just keep happening have a place to go.

The coolest thing about adopting during Clear The Shelters is not that it's free. The coolest thing is that if you adopt one, you help two. For every animal that goes to it's forever home, that space is opened up for us to help another one. If you adopt two - like that two headed kitten monster above - you save four. 

Tell us that's not awesome. 

To recap: great pets, waived adoption fees, double down on the life-saving thing. 

So we'll see you Saturday then? That's almost as cool as a puppy named Alan Waples. 

An Update: Three Reasons You Should Be Totally Psyched For Eddie The Terrible

Warning: Irony ahead.

A while back we had this dog  - a little tan fluffy guy who was wonderful but also really awful, too. To sum up: loved his buddies, housebroken, fun little guy who harbored absolutely no love for strangers or children and viewed other dogs as a potential food source.

In pre-adoption days: Eddie rockin' the Hannibal Lecter look to keep him from eating other dogs.

In some ways Eddie the Terrible was a small dog like many other beloved, quirky, owned pets. But in the context of a shelter? A very difficult dude to find a home for. Sort of like if Cujo, Jack The Ripper and Lassie mixed genes to create a puppy with lovely home manners and loyalty but a shaky moral code. That was our Eddie. We wrote a little blog about him, our amazing volunteer Elizabeth made some hysterical videos and boom - Eddie got adopted by the most awesome couple ever. 

What's a nice couple like you doing with a dog like this?

The happy ending only came, though, after Eddie/Teddy had become a media sensation. As our best known resident (and the patron saint of naughty dogs everywhere) we get a lot of queries as to what he's up to these days. If you're one of the legions of Eddie The Terrible fans, here's three things to know that will make your day. 

1) We Should All Stand In Awe Of The Transformative Power Of Love.

I'm too busy being loved by my dad to contemplate homicide any more. 

We stay in contact with Teddy's new owners. No, not in a lawsuit sort of way but in a 'we love our dog and HSSV is always here to help' sort of way. It is with great joy that we inform you that much like Caitlin Jenner, Eddie The Terrible really has undergone a totally identity change to become Teddy The Beloved. All the wonderful, happy, smart, loving, loyal parts of him are the same but under the tutelage of his family a lot of his rougher edges have sanded off a little.

During a recent visit to the shelter, a calm, relaxed Teddy visited his friends, played a little fetch in the courtyard and snuggled with his owners. Does he like other dogs? Nope. They're still in the 'potential hors d'oeuvres' category for him. Does it matter? Not terribly. His owners are on it and he's way chiller about it then he was before. In fact, he's a totally different dog then we knew back in December. In the best possible way. 

2) Really In Awe Of The Power Of Love.

Still life with flowers. And without man-eating crazy. 

When we say 'different dog', you might not understand how different we're talking about here. Once famous for potentially being the Worst Pet In The World, Teddy recently became a certified Emotional Support Dog for his dad. With much improved manners, Teddy spends a lot of time out and about with his dad.

"Randolph needs Teddy in his life" says Teddy's mom, Deborah. "Their bond together is so strong". Teddy needs them just as much and loves both Randolph and Deborah a lot. A lot a lot. "He can also be a total momma's boy at times" she says. 

Emotional Support Dog? Momma's boy? We knew it all along. Ironic? Perhaps. But from the get-go we always knew Teddy had it in him. 

3) Teddy Changed The Game For A Lot Of Perfectly Imperfect Dogs.

Redemption is a beautiful thing. 

The media kerfluffle over Teddy not only generated a lot of interest in adopting him but initiated a larger conversation about how we talk and think about homeless pets. The biggest thing we heard from the public after posting Teddy? "He's just like my dog!". It was the most common comment on our Facebook and blog for weeks after all of his media stardom. We even heard from other shelters that were marketing their longer term pets with a warts-and-all approach and a pinch of humor. And the other shelters were watching those pets go home.

The moral of the story? People are good. Teddy might not always be, but people in general are.

And that's totally worth knowing.

Smoochies!