Holmes Custom Teams Up with No More Homeless Pets

Here at Holmes Custom, we are all about our pets. If you’re like we are, you know that nothing is better than coming home to a warm greeting from your favorite furry friend. Many of us have dogs or cats at home, so we have compassion for the thousands of animals that are still waiting to be adopted. Our Holmies recently rolled up their sleeves and went to work helping local pets find new homes.

On February 16^th we teamed up with First Coast No More Homeless Pets, a Jacksonville organization that works tirelessly to get animals off the streets and out of shelters.

If you aren’t familiar with First Coast No More Homeless Pets, they are a non-profit organization whose mission is to end euthanizing of shelter animals. While their goal is specific, this issue is prevalent. According to the ASPCA in the United States alone, 6.5 million animals enter shelters each year, with that approximately 1.5 million of these pets end up economically euthanized.¹

So, what does FCNMHP do to put a stop to this? Their primary function is veterinary services. They offer high quality/low-cost vet services so everyone can afford to adopt and maintain their pet’s health. They also use these services for stray animals. As part of their feral freedom program, they implemented a trap-neuter-return strategy. With this program, they capture, sterilize, and release cats back into their native territory. Stopping the overpopulation in and out of shelters will hopefully end the cycle that stray animals undergo.

Another fantastic element of this organization includes its hosted events. The most important event they host is their Mega Pet Adoption. This gathering includes shelters from all over the state, who bring their adoptable pets with the goal of finding them a forever home. Some of these adoption events have resulted in every pet going to a new home! With adoption events occurring a few times a year and their veterinary efforts in motion, FCNMHP has saved approximately 30,000 cats alone.

After hearing about First Coast No More Homeless Pets’ mission we couldn’t wait to get involved. On a warm Saturday morning in February, some of our most devoted Holmies headed to their headquarters. With the next Mega Pet Adoption soon approaching, several Holmies tended to essential tasks around the FCNMHP facilities. A few team members started working on laundry. They needed clean towels and blankets for the animals after their surgeries.

Other team members worked outside, mowing the lawn, raking the leaves and removing pet waste. That’s what it takes to care for so many animals! Cleaning out pet crates proved to be the most intensive task.

Not only did Holmies clean and sanitize the crates, but they also power washed them, dried them and cleared away leaves and debris. This involved FIVE pallets full of crates!

While helping FCNMHP turned out to be quite the workout, we couldn’t have asked for a more rewarding experience. The knowledge that we were helping animals find new homes made the hard work well worth the effort!

Holmes Custom strives to stay involved in the Jacksonville community, offering free assistance to businesses and non-profit organizations such as No More Homeless Pets.

Even though we had a fantastic opportunity to help this inspiring organization, they could always use more help. While our holmies hope to be back soon, in the meantime you should get your friends and family together to volunteer! From their hospital, pet food bank, and adoption events there’s a place for everyone to lend a hand. By visiting their  Volunteer Sign-Up page, you will be one step closer to helping a shelter animal find its forever family. Until next time you can keep up with us and our work in the community by following Holmes Custom on social media and using the hashtag #HolmesCares.

References:

1. https://www.aspca.org/animal-homelessness/shelter-intake-and-surrender/pet-statistics