Best Friends Animal Society Launches Nationwide Holiday Adoption Promotion to Save the Lives of Shelter Pets

It's no secret Americans love to shop and starting this Cyber Monday (Dec. 2), national animal welfare organization Best Friends Animal Society and animal rescue groups and shelters across the country will offer major adoption discounts and incentives to encourage shoppers to bypass the mall or online sellers when looking for their next pet.

Adopters may be surprised to know that nearly 25 percent of pets in shelters are purebreds, and that nearly any type of pet can be found through a shelter or rescue, leaving no reason to turn to puppy mill-supplied retailers. What's more, by choosing to adopt, people can save the lives of shelter pets in danger of being killed simply because they don't have a home.

Adoption promotions that are going live on bestfriends.org/promo on Cyber Monday include:

• Nationwide discounted adoption fees from more than 100 participating Best Friends Network Partners, starting at 10 percent off
• $25 adoption weekend sales on all pets in at the Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in Los Angeles, and all six Los Angeles Animal Services shelters
• Cat adoption fees at $15 and dogs at $50 at the Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in Salt Lake City, Utah
• Fifty percent off adoption fees for hundreds of dogs and cats available at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, plus free shipping anywhere in the country for a limited time. Additional discounts offered for other types of pets.
• All pets come spayed/neutered and vaccinated
• On Cyber Monday only, 25 percent off a newly launched adoption shirt to help spread the word about saving shelter pets

"Every year many people add new pets to their families during the holiday season," said Elizabeth Oreck, national manager, Puppy Mill Initiatives, Best Friends Animal Society. "But many people don't realize that animal shelters and rescues across the country are filled with highly adoptable puppies, kittens, dogs and cats. Fancy papers and expensive price tags don't make for great pets. It's all about getting the right dog or cat."

"If you have your heart set on a purebred, about 25 percent of the dogs who wind up in shelters are purebreds," Oreck said. "So it's not necessary to spend thousands of dollars on a pet. Most people don't realize that when they buy pets from a retail outlet, they may be contributing to a national tragedy."

According to Best Friends nearly all pet stores are supplied with inventory by puppy mills, mass commercial breeding operations that supply the pet store industry.

"Right now, hundreds of thousands of adult dogs are suffering on the production line in America's puppy mills," Oreck said. "Often they must live in tiny wire-bottom cages, amid squalid conditions, with little human contact and veterinary care, often for years. It is no life for man's best friend."

Best Friends offers the following advice: skip the pet store and visit bestfriends.org/promo to start the search for your next pet.

Oreck said, "By adopting the one that's right for you, you can help Best Friends save them all."
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For more information on Best Friends' Save Them All campaign: click here. To become a part of the Save Them All movement and make a huge impact on the quality of life for homeless pets everywhere, visit http://www.bestfriends.org/SAVE.

About Best Friends Animal Society
Best Friends Animal Society is the only national animal welfare organization focused exclusively on ending the killing of dogs and cats in America's shelters. An authority and leader in the no-kill movement since its founding in 1984, Best Friends runs the nation's largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals, as well as life-saving programs in partnership with rescue groups and shelters across the country. Since its founding, Best Friends has helped reduce the number of animals killed in shelters from 17 million per year to 4 million. No other animal welfare organization has the knowledge, technical expertise and on-the-ground network to end the killing and Save Them All.

Become a fan of Best Friends Animal Society on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bestfriendsanimalsociety.

Follow Best Friends on Twitter: http://twitter.com/bestfriends.