Happy Tails and Purr-fect Endings at the SPCA

Love was in the air as over 630 lucky animals found their forever homes this Valentine's Weekend at the SPCA Second Chance for Love adopt-a-thon sponsored by Hill's Pet Nutrition.

36 SPCA centres across New Zealand threw open their doors on the 12th and 13th of February, a weekend filled with love, community spirit and hundreds of happy endings when the SPCA and Hill's Pet Nutrition celebrated their annual Second Chance for Love adopt-a-thon nationwide. Hill's Pet Nutrition is the exclusive feeding sponsor to the SPCA, providing premium nutrition for every animal in every SPCA centre as they await their special someone.

This year's adopt-a-thon was also the most successful to date, with more SPCA centres participating and more animals adopted than in previous years.

"The Hill's Second Chance for Love adopt-a-thon was a great success, with hundreds and hundreds of happy animals now in their 'forever homes' thanks to the event," says Royal New Zealand SPCA National Fundraising and Sponsorship Manager, Cressida Evans.

"We saw lost animals reunited with their owners, animals who had been with the SPCA for months finding their forever families, people falling in love with animals and animals falling in love with people everywhere! We had families adopt goats, guinea pigs, rabbits, sheep, chickens and even a budgie."

The weekend was a great opportunity for SPCA centres to meet their local communities as well, with members of the public rallying behind their SPCA centres and coming in for a visit to enjoy the atmosphere.

"Centres had raffles, sausage sizzles, bouncy castles and all manner of competitions, making it a great day out for all the community," says Ms Evans.

The event would not have been possible without support and sponsorship from Hill's Pet Nutrition, who had representatives present at many participating Centres.

"Families who adopted a cat or dog from the SPCA were given expert nutrition advice from Hill's Pet Nutrition to ensure that their feeding routines remained the same in their new families. Thank you to everyone who visited the SPCA centres during the event, and thank you to Hill's Pet Nutrition for making it possible," adds Ms Evans.

Visit the Second Chance for Love website (www.secondchanceforlove.co.nz) to read some of the wonderful adoption stories from the event, and to vote for your favourite SPCA centre – the Centre with the most votes will win $1000 from Hill's Pet Nutrition. The competition is open until the 31st March.

Some very happy endings:

In Auckland, a family was reunited with their missing dog after three months, after he was featured in a local paper in the lead-up to Second Chance for Love.

In Kerikeri, the SPCA – which does not have a physical Centre in the area – was given an empty shop over the weekend, right in the middle of the Farmer's Market, to decorate and use as an adoption centre on the day. The exposure meant 20 animals went home over the weekend.

In Napier, the SPCA found homes for more animals than they had in months, with over 200 visitors to the Centre over the weekend.

In Nelson, the SPCA had supporters and members of the public lining up outside the doors from 9.30am on the Saturday. The excitement carried on over the weekend, with visitors in the Centre from start to finish.

In Te Awamutu, a 7-year-old cat who had been with the SPCA for six months found her forever family.