PLANT CITY, Fla. — The 4th annual Mega Dog Adoption Festival brought hundreds of dogs from 8 shelters together under one roof at the Strawberry Festival Fairgrounds in Plant City, giving families a chance to find a new pet.
Chelsea Waldeck, division director at the Pet Resource Center, helped organize the shelters and their dogs for the event. She said the hours of preparation and pounds of dog food that go into the festival are worth it when she sees dogs she has cared for find a home.
"We all have amazing dogs, and we're all overpopulated right now," Waldeck said.
Some of the dogs at the event have been in the shelter system for nearly a year.
"We've got a few inside that have, they're almost at a year. In June, it'll be a year that they've been with us, and that can get hard because, you know, being at a shelter that long, it's supposed to be short-term, but that it starts to weigh on them. So we want to make sure that dogs aren't in the system for that long," Waldeck said.
Among the families searching for a new pet was the Hossler family. Tanya and Troy Hossler returned for a second day at the festival, hoping to find a dog to grow up with their daughter, Dessa.
"We had a Jack Russell, Parson Russell, so we're kind of, he was a great dog, so we're looking to get another one similar to him," Tanya Hossler said.
When the doors opened, Tanya and Troy split up, each walking one side of the event hall.
Troy spotted a dog he liked, but it had already been claimed by another family. But, behind them, was Toby — a Jack mix, similar to their previous dog.
And after getting to know Toby, they decided to adopt him on the spot. Giving the family a brand new member.
All dogs not adopted are still up for adoption at their respective shelters.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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