Wednesday, December 4, 2024
For those looking to bring a pet home for the holidays, the Town of Hempstead recently launched a pet adoption initiative at its animal shelter. During the event, called Home for the Holidays, all fees will be waived for those who adopt animals from the facility from Nov. 25 to Jan. 5.
The Milleridge Inn restaurant, in Jericho, is partnering with the town for the event, offering $50 gift cards to the eatery for new pet owners. Butch Yamali, the restaurant’s owner and a member of the Baldwin, Freeport and Merrick chambers of commerce, said that he and his team were more than willing to help incentivize adoptions if it meant that animals in need of loving homes would find them.
“This is good for the community,” Yamali said. “It’s great because it gets these dogs into somebody’s house.”
Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin announced the event’s kickoff at the Milleridge Inn on Nov. 14, joined by Councilman Dennis Dunne, Town Clerk Kate Murray, Yamali and employees of the restaurant and the shelter. In addition to the waived adoption fee and gift cards, Clavin said, the town will also offer free spaying and neutering, vaccinations and microchipping for the four-legged adoptees.
“It’s such a good nexus of creating an initiative to get these animals in loving homes, and making sure there’s no additional cost or burden on the taxpayers,” Clavin said, “but also finding a team like the Milleridge Inn that want to give back.”
Melissa Nisita, executive assistant at the restaurant, oversaw its involvement in the program. Nisita, who said she has always been a dog lover, contacted the shelter to propose the additional incentive for adoptions during the holidays.
“We’re always open to helping animals get adopted,” she said. “We love the animals — we want to do anything we can to help.”
In addition to gift cards, Nisita and the restaurant also donated pet food, toys, beds, water bowls and cleaning items to the shelter for the initiative. Promoting adoptions is important to Nisita, she said.
Ashley Behrens, the shelter’s director, said she was “amazed” by the Milleridge Inn’s generosity. The adoption event, she added, helps spark interest in pet adoptions each year, thanks to the money it saves those who would like to have a pet but are dissuaded by the expense.
“There’s always costs involved in getting a pet — buying toys, buying food,” Behrens said, “so cutting the fees for the adoption really helps people, especially around the holidays, when they’re spending money on other things.”
She encourages people to do their research before adopting a pet. Shelter employees, she said, will discuss how much work a dog entails with potential adopters, and will try to help them make the best choice of breed.
“Just know what you’re getting into,” Behrens said. “We always try to find a right fit for a family.”
Yamali thanked the town and the shelter for organizing the initiative. He visited the shelter for the first time last month, he said, and was impressed by how clean and organized it was, and how well the animals were cared for. He added that he hoped to see them find homes during the holidays.
