Good dogs are gathered to find welcoming homes

BOTHELL — A trip to the animal shelter isn’t needed to find a new four-legged friend.

More than 80 dogs and puppies of all breeds and sizes are planned to be up for adoption today at the Designer Mutt Match Event, the largest dog adoption event in Snohomish County.

The event is scheduled from noon to 3 p.m. at the Academy of Canine Behavior at 4705 240th St. SE in Bothell.

“There are a lot of people who want to adopt, but they don’t want to go into an actual shelter,” said Andrea Logan of ­Pawsitive Alliance, the Seattle-based nonprofit organization that organized the second-­annual event.

Dogs from several local shelters — including the Progressive Animal Welfare Society in Lynn­wood and the Everett Animal Shelter — are planned to be brought to the adoption event.

All the dogs will have been spayed or neutered, and have received the necessary shots. Adoption prices will range from $150 to $250, and the dogs can be returned with money-back guarantees.

Only dogs with good social skills will be brought to the event, said Kelly Konicka, a program manager at PAWS.

“We try to choose dogs we know are going to be good with other dogs, and we try to pick dogs that we know are going to be good family dogs,” Konicka said.

Last year, more than 70 dogs were adopted out during the event. Organizers hope to surpass that this year.

With the nation’s economy in distress, many pets have been brought to animal shelters by families who can no longer afford to keep them, Logan said.

That makes this year’s adoption event even more important, she said.

“There are a lot of animals losing their homes right now because of people’s financial hardships,” Logan said. “It is a concern, and hopefully that won’t affect things on Sunday.

“We hope people will turn out to meet the great dogs and puppies we have available,” she said.

Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.