Despite the often heavy rain and cold wind that had holiday shoppers scurrying past with their heads buried under flapping umbrellas, the adoptable kittens and cats, puppies and dogs from the San Francisco SPCA's Adoption Outreach 19th Annual Holiday Windows at Macy's Union Square store warmed many a heart during the six-week event.
The SF/SPCA Holiday Windows has become a San Francisco holiday season tradition, and many families make a yearly trip just to see the cats and dogs in their temporary residence. The 2005 adoption campaign took up residence at Macy's from November 19 - December 26 in specially built living quarters, the make-believe world of "Petropolis". Two windows for cats flanked a large corner area just for dogs. The animals frolicked, meditated and snoozed in their animal-sized dwellings - The Doggie Diner and Haut Cat-ure Boutique, etc. - while delighted shoppers watched their antics. The animals displayed such star quality that 175 cats and 17 dogs were adopted into loving homes. The very first adoption was a 4-year old terrier mix named Mr. Chew. He caught the eye of a cameraman who was covering the opening day of the event for a San Francisco television station. Mr. Chew now stars exclusively in home movies!
SF/SPCA Director of Animal Programs Kiska Icard expressed gratitude to Macy's for the opportunity to showcase shelter dogs and cats in the store's windows, and to the other sponsors of the event, Frosty Paws, Nutro Products, Pet Club, Ever Clean and Bissell. "What could be more in keeping with the spirit of the holidays than helping homeless companion animals begin new lives of love and hope?" she said.
Hundreds of dedicated SF/SPCA volunteers and staff members manned Holiday Windows, both inside and outside the store. They were also joined by big-hearted volunteer groups from high schools, community organizations and corporations. Approximately 1,500 volunteer hours were donated, a total of 745 two-hour slots. The SF/SPCA is very grateful to all members of the community who supported the Holiday Windows campaign with their time, and with their donations. In all, an amazing $24,153 was collected in donations from the public to benefit the shelter animals.
Several litters of puppies, including puppies that had been displaced by Hurricane Katrina, were up for adoption at Holiday Windows. The interest in the puppies was overwhelming - over 100 applications for each litter. Happily, they all found permanent homes. And saving the best for last…! 5-month old, black and white kittens, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, were brothers who had come to The SF/SPCA together and had been taken down to Holiday Windows every single day. They enjoyed going to Holiday Windows and they loved being together, so much so that an attempt to separate them was abandoned in the face of their obvious distress. It was decided that they had to be adopted together but somehow they kept being overlooked. On the last day of the event, as campaign workers were beginning to pack up, a young couple came in and adopted them both. Who says happy endings only exist in fairy tales?
