The fix For Black Friday mall madness stress? Adopt a pet!

By Julie Castle

I didn’t know this, so I’m assuming many of you didn’t either, but the term “Black Friday” as the name of the official start to the Christmas shopping season had its origins in Philadelphia more than 50 years ago. It was actually coined by the Philly police department to describe the pedestrian and traffic mess that resulted from all the post-Thanksgiving store sales intended to jump-start Christmas gift buying. It is said that the ominous name, Black Friday, was actually intended by police to discourage people from heading downtown and adding to the mess.

How’s that for a messaging failure? Rather than “Stay home because the crowds are a nightmare,” the message received by the public was “Better get down here or you’ll miss out on the deal of the season.” The rest is history and Black Friday has become an annual shopping phenomenon.

Who are we to argue with the will of the people? Starting this Friday, November 28, Best Friends pet adoption centers in Salt Lake City and Los Angeles are hosting Black Friday pet adoption promotions.

In Salt Lake, the adoption fun runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in the Sugar House area. Adoption fees will be cut in half all day for every dog, cat, kitten or puppy, and every lovable one of them will be spayed or neutered and microchipped. Each adoption also includes 30 days of free pet insurance.

In true Los Angeles fashion, the Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in Mission Hills is pulling out all the stops with the #Holiday 100 Marathon, a 24/7 event with the doors opening this Friday at 6 a.m. and running continuously until 8 p.m. Sunday, November 30.

Fees for the first 100 animals adopted during the marathon will be slashed to just $10, and each adoption includes a free ID tag, bag of pet food and one month of pet insurance.

“The holidays are an incredibly popular time of the year for people to add a pet to their family,” says Marc Peralta, executive director of Best Friends Animal Society–Los Angeles. “We’ve created a unique opportunity for people to find the perfect lap dog, smart cat or big breed companion, instead of the usual Black Friday laptop, smartphone or big screen TV purchase.”

The #Holiday100 Adoption Marathon will also feature special daily on-site broadcasts from media sponsors K-Earth 101 and KNX 1070, goodies from local merchants and holiday gift giveaways.

Unique adoption promotions are a very effective way that we can adopt out more animals, a crucial piece of the puzzle in the effort to Save Them All

What better way to recover from being body-checked by that sweet little old lady in the sale aisle, than to take home a four-legged bundle of love and affection.

Black Friday will never be the same!

Julie Castle

CEO

Best Friends Animal Society

@BFAS_Julie