Shelter plans 24-hour, no-kill event

MUNCIE – If you've ever wanted to adopt a shelter dog or cat at 3 a.m., this Thursday is your chance.

The Muncie Animal Shelter will be open 24 hours on Thursday, will reduce adoption fees dramatically and will not euthanize any animals that day as part of a "Just One Day" national animal shelter event.

"We will be open until midnight or until we run out of animals," Muncie shelter director Phil Peckinpaugh said. "Hopefully we run out of animals."

As of Tuesday, the shelter had 60 dogs and 70-80 cats and kittens for adoption.

The shelter will open at midnight late Wednesday/early Thursday and remain open until 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Peckinpaugh said, with the exception of the usual lunch hour at noon and a dinner hour at 6 p.m.

During the event, adoption fees are set at $11, which includes microchip, spay/neuter and current vaccinations. Adoption fees are normally $100 for dogs and $65 for cats.

The point of the event isn't to prompt spur-of-the-moment, middle-of-the-night impulse pet adoptions. It is meant to raise awareness of not only adoptions of shelter animals but reduce euthanasia rates at shelters nationally.

Peckinpaugh said the Muncie shelter averages about 4,000 animals each year. About 1,000 are adopted, he said. Others are placed through breed-specific or general rescue groups. Some are deceased upon arrival or die in kennel. Peckinpaugh said the shelter euthanized about 12 percent of its animals in 2014 and is on track to reduce that number in 2015.

"Our numbers are improving and continue to improve," Peckinpaugh said.

Nationally, the Just One Day/No Kill Nation movement says 10,411 companion animals are euthanized each day.

"A lot of shelters euthanize every day," Peckinpaugh said. "We're fortunate we're not one of those, but it's important to be part of this movement."

Contact Keith Roysdon at 765-213-5828 and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.