Fur festival helps shelter pets find forever homes

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EL PASO – “Fur Babies” was the phrase of the day at the second annual Fur Festival in early November, an adoption extravaganza encouraging pet adoption from both the El Paso Animal Services and the Humane Society of El Paso. “It was a great experience. Everyone was really friendly and it’s a home-like environment for the dogs,” said a visitor named Mark who adopted a black labrador retriever mix named Daisy at the festival. At the 2014 festival, 125 pets were adopted in one day from the Humane Society of El Paso and the city shelter combined. This year 98 pets found new homes during the festival, but organizers said adoptions during the week were at a higher rate than usual due to promotion of the event.

Andrea Castro checks on five of her 13 non-human family members. (Azucena Santos/Borderzine.com)

Unlimited love expands two families into unrestricted animal menageries

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EL PASO – For Stephanie Vazquez an ordinary day begins at 5:30 a.m. with a hot shower, then an egg and chorizo burrito and before she can leave for school, she has to start the day off properly for her unlikely family. The Vazquez family, living on the outskirts of the Eastside, consists of a fish, a gecko, two hamsters, three turtles, nine cats and 11 dogs. The pets are her companions while her soldier husband is in training in San Antonio. Vazquez also shares her home with three more conventional relatives – her father, mother and younger sister. Almost everyday a warm affectionate greeting is offered to the 27 non-human house members.