Pet Adopt-A-Thon Saturday

Karen Zekan

Friday, May 8, 1998 | 10:01 a.m.

Find a friend. Save a life.

That's the only requirement to get in the gate Saturday at the festival area north of Silver Bowl Stadium off Boulder Highway and Russell Road, where from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. almost 100 dogs and cats will be looking for someone to love.

An idea originally developed by Media Partners for Pets, the Adopt-A-Thon will bring together homeless animals from Dewey Animal Care Center, Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and Henderson Animal Shelter.

"It's the one day when every one of those shelter cages is empty, and every one of those animals finds a home," said Steve Scott, regional vice president for Veterinary Centers of America.

VCA vets will be on hand to answer questions, pass out food samples, arrange for low cost pet vaccinations, and provide microchip pet IDs for as little as $10.

Metro Police's K-9 unit will be doing demonstrations. Pet talent and costume contests are also planned, along with Stacey Moore's "Mess of Mutts" dog trick show.

Hundreds of animals end up at shelters throughout Clark County every day, and overcrowded conditions force many of them to be euthanized. On behalf of the animals, three friends from KNPR 89.5 Public Radio, 96.3 KKLZ Radio and KUPN TV 21 teamed up to create Media Partners for pets and coordinate off-site adoptions to give animals another chance at life.