Meet Falcon (A515872), a 4-year-old St. Bernard with a heart as big as his paws! Falcon is a gentle giant who adores people and will eagerly roll over for belly rubs. He walks well on a leash and enjoys exploring the outdoors. Falcon loves treats and under-chin scritches, especially if you reach those hard-to-get spots. He’s a laid-back companion, content to amble around, slobber, and relax by your side. Learn more about adopting or fostering Falcon at pasadenahumane.org

Last weekend, Pasadena Humane found new homes for an astonishing 195 cats at CatCon, the biggest cat-centric pop culture event in the world dedicated to all things feline.

If you love cats, and you have never been to CatCon, next year you must go!

The event is hosted right here at the Pasadena Convention Center. It draws thousands of people from near and far — including firefighters from Australia this year.

The vendors are amazing. I was especially impressed by a cat-sized piano that dispenses treats when your cat plays a note or two.

While we were overjoyed to find homes for so many of our feline friends at the CatCon adoption village sponsored by Hill’s Pet Nutrition, the reality is that we still have hundreds of animals looking for new homes.

Summer is the busiest time of year for animal admissions at shelters nationwide, including Pasadena Humane. If you are looking to adopt or foster, we need your help now.

Last month, we took in 636 companion animals, an average of 21 animals per day. To put things in perspective, each day during this same time period, 10 animals were adopted and two lost pets were reunited with their owners.

These numbers point to one thing — our kennels are full, and we need the community’s help finding homes for the pets in our shelter.

Of course, adopting a pet is the most immediate way you can help. And, there are so many other ways you can make a difference. Becoming a shelter volunteer, fostering, making a donation, or sharing adoptable pets on social media are just a few.

Our shelter is particularly in need of adopters and fosters for large breed dogs.

In their recently published State of Shelter Adoption Report, our friends at Hill’s Pet Nutrition found that while 66% of Americans are likely to adopt shelter pets, less than one in four survey respondents were likely to adopt a big dog.

We have many large dogs in our care right now including huskies, shepherds, bully breeds, and mixes of all kinds. We even have a Saint Bernard.

This Sunday, Aug. 11, we are having “Doggy Speed Dating” for folks interested in fostering a large dog. The event is free. We just ask that you visit our website to sign-up for an hour between 11 a.m.- 2 p.m. to meet some wonderful pooches.

If dating results in a match, you will be able to take your foster dog home that day.

We provide our foster volunteers with all the necessary supplies, including food and veterinary care. And, we have a 24/7 emergency response system for foster parents to ensure that both the animals and our volunteers are always supported.

We are asking families to foster “Speed Dating” dogs for 6 nights, so it’s less than week-long commitment.

The dogs get a nice break from the shelter, while fosters gather more information that will help us make a permanent connection with an adoptive family during our Clear the Shelters free-adoption event the following weekend.

In collaboration with NBC-4 and Telemundo-52, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, August 17, we’ll be waiving the adoption fees for all available pets, including dogs, cats and critters. Plus, all dogs, cats, and rabbits will be spayed/neutered, microchipped and up to date on vaccines.

To learn more about how to adopt, foster, volunteer, or donate, visit pasadenahumane.org

Dia DuVernet is president and CEO of Pasadena Humane.

This blog post originally appeared as a column in the Pasadena Star-News on August 9, 2024.