Coldwell Banker’s Homes for Dogs Project has placed more than 40,000 pets for adoption across North America. Last year Coldwell Banker Southwest Realty in Sarnia, Ont. held a community event that placed 32 pets in their forever homes.
More than $28,000 has been raised to support the cause.
Even though the pandemic now limits our ability to gather safely, the brokerage recognized the need this year was stronger than ever. It met the challenge with its first Virtual Pet Adoption event, held in partnership with the Sarnia Humane Society.
Online applications were developed to pre-screen prospective pet owners, find a good match and set up private meet-and-greet appointments with furry friends up for adoption.
The dogs were rescued from remote northern communities, where they were living on the street with no food or shelter. The Sarnia Humane Society had a connection with an animal shelter, Northern Reach Rescue Network in Thunder Bay, Ont. that rescues dogs from rural areas in Northern Ontario. The shelter had too many dogs up for rescue, with little prospect of successful adoption. The dogs were flown in for free by North Star Air from these rural areas to the Northern Reach Rescue Network. From there, volunteers from Sarnia headed north to pick up the rescue dogs and bring them back on the last leg of their long 3,000 km journey before they were featured in the adoption event.
All the dogs were successfully adopted. The program is now ongoing with more events planned before the end of the year. The Sarnia Humane Society reached out to everyone who didn’t get to adopt the first time around to get a jump start on getting the dogs from the second rescue adopted out quickly. More than 40 dogs have been adopted so far, at an adoption fee of $400 each, with more events to come.
“We’ve already raised over $28,000 in funding from corporate sponsors, adoption fees and donations,” says Rob Longo, co-owner of Coldwell Banker Southwest Realty. “And there’s still more good work to be done.”
The brokerage has committed to partnering with the humane society for additional events between now and the end of the year.
“The Sarnia Humane Society is so pleased with the success of the first two Homes for Dogs events, that they want to go up to Northern Ontario as many times as they can before the winter hits the area hard,” says co-owner Steve Park. “A third rescue trip is currently being planned and we hope to mount three to four events by year-end.”
Longo says, “Our program’s co-ordinator Karley Chamberlain is hard at work on the logistics of our upcoming events, preparing our social media plan and reaching out for donations. All our team is incredibly proud of what our Homes for Dogs virtual events have achieved, and there are still many more dogs to be rescued that need our help in finding their forever homes.”
“Our Sarnia affiliate, Coldwell Banker Southwest Realty, continues to represent the ‘can do’ spirit of our Canadian network during this pandemic,” says Andy Puthon, Coldwell Banker Canada president. “Their innovative approach to continue their proud tradition of giving back to their community speaks to our core values and how our Coldwell Banker professionals leave their mark, even in times of adversity.”
