Press Release

September 11, 2012
Contact: Jenny Kunz, Tel: 408.242.7474 Email: kunz@maddiesfund.org

The third annual Maddie's^® Matchmaker Adoptathon found homes for 2,601 dogs and cats throughout Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco Counties on June 9 - 10, 2012.

The goal of the Adoptathon is to give all healthy and treatable shelter dogs and cats a second chance. This year, 965 of the animals adopted were seniors and/or had been treated for a medical condition.

Countless local businesses opened their doors to host adoptions this year, including Stoneridge Shopping Center, Bay Street Emeryville, PETCO, PetSmart and Pet Food Express stores throughout the three counties. In addition, 70 employees from Deloitte volunteered their time to help Oakland Animal Services prepare its facility for the event, and Workday employees volunteered at many of the locations throughout the weekend.

"Our goal this year was to expand the Adoptathon into San Francisco so that even more animals could find homes," said Dave Duffield, Maddie's Fund founder. "We did just that, and we were thrilled with the huge outpouring of support for the thousands of animals that got adopted."

Maddie's Fund will provide more than $1.9 million in funding to the 63 participating shelters and rescue groups for all the adoptions completed during this year's Maddie's^® Matchmaker Adoptathon. Each adoption affords the groups a mini-grant which helps to care for more animals throughout the year.

Top Adopters:
Cat Support Network 178
H.A.L.O. 166
Oakland Animal Services 127
East Bay Animal Rescue & Refuge 126
Safe Cat Foundation 112
San Francisco Animal Care & Control 111
Feral Cat Foundation 107
Tri-Valley Animal Rescue 104
Antioch Animal Shelter 92

Stories from the Adoptathon:

• The first adopter at Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) arrived at 4:30 a.m., and by 9:00 a.m. they had a line of 25 people waiting for their doors to open.
• Dave Duffield made a special plea on Facebook over the weekend for people to come visit Gus, a 5-year-old, 105-pound gentle giant who had been one of Oakland Animal Services longest residents. A couple from San Mateo saw the post, rushed right over to Oakland Animal Services and took him home. Way to go, Gus!
• Cuddles was the very last adoption of the weekend for Safe Cat Foundation. She is a 10-year-old cat that was born without her hind legs. Her previous owners claimed she was too much trouble, but her new family only sees her sweet personality and desire to live, despite her limitations. Yay for Cuddles and her second chance!
• Millie was scared and sick when she arrived at Maine Coon Adoptions. She spent her first nine years living in a backyard and had developed ear cancer, which was successfully treated before Maddie's^® Matchmaker Adoptathon. We are happy to report that Millie's new family is spoiling her rotten. Enjoy it Millie, you deserve it!
• East Bay Animal Rescue & Refuge (EBARR) found a loving home for "Lumpy," an 11-year-old black lab with fatty tumors. The adopting family wanted a companion for their 10-year-old dog, and as luck would have it, the two dogs became instant buddies. It was a match made in heaven!
• Workday employee, Josephine Greer, donated her Pet Haven dog houses to three Adoptathon dogs who had incredibly heart-warming stories .

About Maddie's Fund

Maddie's Fund^® is a family foundation which is funded by the founder of Workday and PeopleSoft, Dave Duffield and his wife, Cheryl. Maddie's Fund is helping to create a no-kill nation where all healthy and treatable shelter dogs and cats are guaranteed a loving home. To achieve this goal, Maddie's Fund is investing its resources in building community collaborations where animal welfare organizations come together to develop successful models of lifesaving; in veterinary colleges to help shelter medicine become part of the veterinary curriculum to train veterinarians to save the lives of sick and injured dogs and cats in animal shelter; and in the implementation of a national effort to promote accountability and transparency in animal shelter operations. Maddie's Fund is named after the family's beloved Miniature Schnauzer who passed away in 1997.

Maddie's^® Matchmaker Adoptathon is held to increase awareness of shelter animals and their need for loving homes and to shed light on the tireless efforts of the shelters and rescue organizations in Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco Counties that work so hard to save the lives of countless dogs and cats every day.  The adoption event honors the memory of the Foundation's namesake, a Miniature Schnauzer named Maddie.