Deni Hines visited The Sydney Dogs and Cats home

Famous Australian R&B singer Deni Hines visited The Sydney Dogs and Cats home this week to help launch the world's largest pet adoption campaign 'Iams Home 4 the Holidays'. The shelter in Carlton, has joined forces with 4,000 others around the world to participate in the campaign to help place 1.5 million pets into homes.

Pet ownership figures in Australia are one of the highest in the world with an estimated 53% of households owning a cat or a dog. Sadly however, over 200,000 abandoned pets are needlessly euthanased in Australia every year, due to the inability to find them homes.

Animal lover, Deni took time to visit each dog and cat within the shelter, all of which are looking for permanent homes. Four years ago Deni collected her own dog from the shelter after it went missing and has been a strong supporter of the shelter ever since.

The annual adoption campaign, Iams Home 4 the Holidays (IH4TH) is the largest pet adoption drive in history with a mission to reduce the number of orphaned pets globally. Running from October 1 2009 through to January 4 2010, the campaign highlights the plight of abandoned pets and encourages families to give pets happy permanent homes.

"We are proud to be a part of this awesome annual campaign - Iams Home 4 the Holidays - and work toward helping place 1.5 million animals into homes during the holiday season", said Christine Baramilis from Sydney Dogs and Cats Home. "This year marks the program's launch in Australia and will see shelters in New South Wales and Victoria partner with thousands of others from around the world come together to help homeless animals."

All dogs, cats, puppies and kittens adopted during IH4TH will go home with their new family and an Iams Starter Kit. Included in each kit are information tips to help the new parent and their furry friends get off on the right paw.

"The staff here at the Sydney Dogs and Cats Home are specially trained and very dedicated in assisting families to responsibly choose the perfect pet for their personalities and lifestyles," said Christine Baramilis.

For information on other participating shelters please visit www.iamshome4thehoildays.com
For information about the pets up for adoption at the Sydney Dogs and Cats Home please visit www.sydneydogsandcatshome.org