Iams H4TH, the Helen Woodward Animal Center and Mike Arms

Back in the Fall, Iams began promoting its annual Home 4 the Holidays program (IH4TH). The bar was set high – a goal of getting 1,500,000 (1.5 million!) pets adopted for the holidays. In addition to adoptions, the Bags 4 Bowls portion of this year’s program was to allow for donations to shelter pets of food (by Iams) simply through purchases of Iams pet food. Another arm of the program included the opportunity for those wishing to make a difference to simply “like” Iams on Facebook, which would provide additional donations. Tying up the package was the inclusion of adoption rebates of $35, adoption kits with coupons and advice, promotion of volunteering or donating to help homeless pets, and plenty of information.

Source: Blue Mountain

The program began in 1999, initiated by the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe, California, an amazing organization headed by the equally amazing Mike Arms. The center has been extremely successful in placing pets in homes, and once the IH4TH program was instituted and coordinated with Iams, adoption rates soared during a season when many organizations were wary of the idea that bringing a new pet home around the holidays could be a good thing for everyone involved. Mike Arms speaks often of the “epidemic” of homeless pets in our country, and of the urgent need to educate the public on the advantages of adopting a shelter pet, passing on the purchase of one through pet stores or breeders.

This year’s IH4TH has, according to the latest numbers posted on the Iams Home 4 the Holidays website, reached the goal of  providing 5 million meals to shelter pets, and very nearly reached the ambitious goal that had been set of 1.5 million adoptions – 1,125,667 to date. Considering 1,363,638 adoptions were achieved during the 2009 program, and the struggling economy that has devastated so many people in the last couple of years, this is quite an impressive number!

While the Iams H4TH program was once again very successful, and well over one million enjoyed the holidays in their forever homes, there are still millions without a home. The work is not done, but we can count on the Helen Woodward Center to continue with ambitious programs, workshops and information on successful models to be used by shelters around the world – and more pets to finally live happily and peacefully in their own homes.