Join us as we come together for the 2nd Annual Adopt Hop which will take place on Saturday, September 11th and will be followed by a Rescue Rally from 6-9 pm in Wrigleyville - where they’ll be live music, food an drink , incredible raffle prizes and, no doubt, a fantastic time! The Adopt Hop event is the Adopt Don’t Buy Campaign's first step towards improving the lives of animals. Last year, the Adopt Hop was a tremendous amount of fun and a huge success! With nearly 200 people in attendance and seven of Chicago’s rescue groups participating, our mission to raise awareness was off to a great start.
What is the Adopt Hop? Participants of the Adopt Hop will get to strut their stuff in customized Adopt Don’t Buy campaign t-shirts. The Adopt Hop will take participants on a pub-crawl-inspired journey to several Lakeview bars. At each location, event-go’ers will have the opportunity to mingle with one of Chicago’s finest rescue groups, where they will hear about the group’s approach to the campaign, as well as learn about how individuals can help make a difference. Our bar partners will have food and/or drink specials tailored especially for event participants, and we’ll have give-away items that no one will want to miss.
But the fun doesn’t stop there! At the end of the Hop, everyone will complete their travels back to the Rock’n’Rescue rally site – where they’ll enjoy live music, great food and a plethora of drink. Event participants who visit all eleven bar locations will be eligible to enter the raffle for our big ticket items, as well as try their luck at winning our other terrific raffle prizes. We will announce our lucky raffle winners at the rally, as well as hold a toast to honor our furry friends.
This year, 11 rescue groups will be participating, which includes a unique local rescue group whose mission is to provide homes for Search and Rescue dogs who have helped save human lives. Every dollar raised from the Adopt Hop will enable participating rescue groups to continue life-saving work. This year's Adopt Hop participants are - ALIVE, Chicago Bully Breed Rescue, Chicago English Bulldog Rescue, Felines Inc, New Leash on Life, Project Rescue Chicago, Puppy Love/Love Cats, Tree House Humane Society and Virtually Home Chicago, Young at Heart.
Stay tuned for upcoming ticket information - or contact one of the resuce groups involved for more details or how you can help!
We Americans claim to love our cats and dogs. Millions of homes have pets, and we spend billions of dollars each year on their care. But beneath this warm and fuzzy surface lies another set of facts that tells a very different story and belies a very different truth.
Each year, 27 million cats and dogs are born in the U.S. Each year, we deal with the 5-10 million animal surplus by killing them, and justify our behavior as though no other possible solution existed. Most of us refuse to look at the carnage. We tell ourselves these animals are damaged goods, undesirable and unadoptable. Yet it is we who define these terms and determine the fates of these doomed animals.
The problem is simple. We have too many cats and dogs and not enough homes. Although the movement to spay and neuter our pets has made strides over the past couple decades, this practice will not eliminate pet overpopulation and its consequences; pet abandonment, overcrowded shelters, and the senseless destruction of innocent lives. To do that, we must change public demand.
The mission of the Adopt, Don’t Buy Campaign is to raise awarenss and tell the truth about the state of animal overpopulation in our country. We intend to engage you in conversations that will enable you to recognize the erroneous biases that fuel our decisions and sanction our behavior. We will ask you to accept personal responsibility for becoming a part of the solution. Together, we can change the horrific statistics. We can stop the senseless killing.
Via education, advertising and wearable gear, our goal is to make adoption both the moral and fashion norms. Our partnership with shelters is central to our work as we engage them in fundraising and awareness campaigns. We intend to drive “business” to shelters as we steer that business away from pet stores and breeders.
…Euthanasia is the single largest cause of death for dogs and cats in the U.S.
…Each year 27 million cats and dogs are born (approx. 70,000 per day!). The sources of all these births include people who do not spay and neuter their pets as well as purposeful breeding by those hoping to sell the offspring.
…Five to ten million of the cats and dogs born each year we classify as "surplus" and kill…that's about one million animals per month that lose their lives because of human negligence.
…25% of all animals who end up in shelters are purebred.
…As a nation we have 90 million cats and 75 million dogs in our homes. Only 15% of these dogs and 10% percent of these cats are acquired from shelters….the rest come from alternative sources.
…There is nothing ‘wrong’ with the animals that end up in shelters. In fact, the top 5 reasons pets are given up to shelters are: moving, landlord issues, cost of pet maintenance, allergies and too many in the house.
…Tremendous as the problem of pet overpopulation is, it can be solved if each of us takes just one small step, starting with not allowing our animals to breed and not supporting those who do.
…Adopting from your local shelter supports their critical efforts to save more lives!