Annual adoption event seeks to place 500-600 homeless animals

By Cortney Casey
C & G Staff Writer

STERLING HEIGHTS — Fifteen years ago, when he visited a local shelter to adopt a cat, Joe Sowerby picked up a brochure about animal euthanasia.

The startling statistics on how many creatures are put down for lack of a good home spurred him to action.

“It really haunted me,” said Sowerby, a Chesterfield Township resident and partner at Anton, Zorn & Sowerby, a Mount Clemens-based real estate brokerage firm. “We kill 3-4 million homeless animals every year in the United States. We call them man’s best friends, then we euthanize them left and right.”

Now, Sowerby is celebrating the seventh year of his popular Pet-a-Palooza event, which unites rescue groups, humane organizations and animal shelters from throughout Michigan at a single venue: Freedom Hill County Park in Sterling Heights.

The goal is to place as many homeless animals as possible with families who want them. Each adoption saves two animals’ lives, as the departure of one creature from a shelter frees up space for another one, noted Sowerby.

“Animals — they give us unconditional love,” he said. “They don’t ask for much in return. Someone has to be their voice.”

This year’s Pet-a-Palooza, scheduled for June 28-29, will feature 800-1,000 cats and dogs from 35 organizations, some from as far away as Hillsdale and Battle Creek, said Sowerby.

All of the animals are spayed or neutered and vet-checked, and though the organizations have their own fees and adoption policies, all will allow animals to go home with their new owners the same day, he said.

A doe-eyed 2-year-old mastiff mix and a 3-month-old flame point Siamese mix will be among the approximately 50 animals on-site from the Macomb County Animal Shelter, said Animal Control Supervisor Pete Folske.

Chief Animal Control Officer Sue Jeroue called the shelter “the lost and found” of Macomb County pets. Staffers do their best to find animals homes, but it can be difficult, she said.

Pet-a-Palooza “gives us another venue,” said Jeroue. “It gives us an opportunity to work with other placement organizations, build rapports with them and the public.”

The Oakland County Animal Shelter has been a regular participant, involved since the beginning. Sgt. Heidi Hawley said the agency typically brings about 20 cats and kittens and 50 dogs.

At Pet-a-Palooza, “we have a very high success rate with adoptions,” she said. “(Attendees) are not just from that particular area; they come from all over. It’s a great thing they’ve put together to help these agencies adopt animals that we have such a hard time finding homes for.”

Precious Pets Adoption League plans to be on hand with Winston, an 8-year-old silky-haired terrier, as well as eight other dogs and 23 cats, said Sterling Heights resident Shawn Massaria, who is involved with the organization.

Without a headquarters of its own, the league, founded by Gina Tweed, relies on foster families to care for its animals, said Massaria. The group participates regularly in Pet-a-Palooza and also hosts Saturday adoption events at the Sterling Heights Petco, near Lakeside Mall, she said.

Sowerby said there will be other attractions at the event besides adoptions, including the Dock Dogs exhibition, in which canines show off their diving skills, and contests for attendees’ animals, such as the cutest pet competition. Concessions also will be available.

“It’s a very family-oriented event,” he said. “It’s really very exciting.”

Sowerby founded Pet-a-Palooza — which he also holds Downriver and in Arizona, where he has a second home — nine years after establishing Meet Your Best Friend at the Zoo, a similar animal adoption event held at the Detroit Zoo in Royal Oak.

The planning that goes into the events “is daunting,” he said. “It takes a lot of organization, a lot of cooperation across the groups.”

But it’s worth it: According to Sowerby, Meet Your Best Friend at the Zoo and the Freedom Hill Pet-a-Palooza are the No. 1 and No. 2 largest animal adoption events, respectively, nationwide.

To date, Sowerby estimates that close to 30,000 animals have found homes through his events.

Sowerby hopes to draw 10,000-12,000 attendees and place 500-600 homeless animals during this year’s Pet-a-Palooza.

“For a lot of animals,” he said, “this is their only chance.”

Pet-a-Palooza runs 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free; parking is $7 per vehicle. Freedom Hill County Park is located on Metropolitan Parkway, east of Schoenherr, in Sterling Heights.

The event is co-sponsored by WYCD 99.5-FM and Fox TV. For more information, visit their Web sites at www.wycd.com and www.myfoxdetroit.com.

You can reach Staff Writer Cortney Casey at ccasey@candgnws.com or at (586) 498-1046.