Maui Humane Society Hosts First Public Adoption Event in 18+ Months on Sept. 18

The Maui Humane Society hosts its first public adoption event in over a year and a half on Saturday, Sept. 18, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Organization leaders say the event is organized to address the overwhelming number of pets (almost 500) that are currently at the shelter and in foster care.

No appointments are needed and adoption fees for the upcoming event are waived, courtesy of the Dave and Cheryl Duffield Foundation. The list of animals up for adoption includes: dogs, cats, kittens, ducks, bunnies and guinea pigs.

Maui Humane Society reports it continues to experience a high number of animals being surrendered due to the pandemic impacts.

“Thanks to the phenomenal support from our foster families who are currently caring for 297 animals and a busy Wings of Aloha transfer schedule, we are able to juggle the large influx of pets that started in June,” said CEO Steve MacKinnon. “However, we really hope this event will encourage adoptions and that the public will open their hearts and homes to a new family member.”

The event will feature outdoor vendors including Gus’ Hawaiian Shave Ice, Woof Jerky; and cookies donated by Maui Cookie Lab are complimentary for those adopting.

For those that need a little extra time to make a decision, MHS “Paws to Adopt” program allows adopters to spend up to 10 days with an animal before making a final commitment to adopt.

Social distancing and masks are required. Capacity is limited in accordance with County mandates and parties are limited to three people. Families who already have a dog are asked to bring their pet in order to conduct a meet-and-greet with potential adoptees. Animals available for adoption can be viewed at www.mauihumanesociety.org.

If unable to adopt, MHS invites interested individuals and families to become a foster volunteer by starting with the online orientation at: https://www.mauihumanesociety.org/foster-program/

Maui Humane Society is the island’s only open admission shelter, accepting all animals in need. The organization cared for more than 4,419 animals last year and offers high volume, low-cost spay/neuter surgeries to the public for owned pets. All animals adopted or transferred from MHS are first medically evaluated/treated, microchipped, vaccinated, and spayed/neutered.

The shelter also has a robust foster and volunteer program, transfers hundreds of animals through Wings of Aloha flights to adoption-guaranteed homes, offers daily behavioral and enrichment opportunities, practices TNR as a humane method of reducing the community cat population and provides food and supplies at no cost to disadvantaged pet owners through the 4EverPets community outreach program. FY21 Live Release Rates for dogs was 95.59% and 80.87% for cats.

MHS is a registered 501(c)(3), partly funded by the County of Maui for Humane Enforcement and sheltering, and requires more than 50% of the budget to be funded through donations.