Dearborn Animal Shelter Sees Record Adoptions In 2018

DEARBORN, MI — The year 2018 was a big year for Dearborn’s local animal shelter.

During a busy 25th anniversary year when Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit (FAMD) opened the MaryAnn Wright Animal Adoption & Education Center, the organization also saw a record number of dog and cat adoptions: 1,984. This is 69 more than last year’s record high of 1,915, organizers say.

The last adoption of 2018 was a cat named Bubly on New Year’s Eve. He was extremely shy so the family that adopted him spent all day making him comfortable with the idea of going home with them. Once settled, he made the move to his new home in Dearborn with owner Kyle Polidori.

To start 2019, the first adoption of the New Year was Mr. Fuzzy Britches, a cat. He went home with Mary Ann Lawler and her daughter, Laura Manrique, a FAMD youth volunteer.

“2018 was an amazing year,” said Elaine Greene, executive director, FAMD. “The new MaryAnn Wright Animal Adoption & Education Center is the culmination of more than 10 years of fundraising and is so beautiful. I give a lot of credit to all the staff and volunteers for their hard work and devotion to animals every day.”

The MaryAnn Wright Animal Adoption & Education Center is located at the former Amtrak station in Dearborn at 16121 Reckinger Road, just off Michigan Avenue near the Henry Ford Centennial Library. The land was donated to FAMD by the City of Dearborn.

FAMD is using the current shelter at 2661 Greenfield Road as an intake center for dogs and cats. Animals are housed there while they are prepared for adoption; often that means spay/neutering, microchipping and other medical services.

Plans are underway for Phase Two of the new shelter which will house animal services and bring everyone together at one location on the Reckinger campus. Cost for the expansion is anticipated to be $3.5 million. To donate to the capital campaign for the animal services building, visit www.metrodetroitanimals.org.

Image via FAMD