JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – At least 30 people were camping outside Jacksonville’s Animal Care and Protective Services building early Friday, hoping to take home one of the dachshunds available for adoption.
Last week, ACPS said it was expecting more than 70 dachshunds to be available for adoption at the shelter and explained the influx started with a call from a one-time breeding situation that got out of hand.
About 10 of the dachshunds were adopted almost immediately, while six others were sent to rescue groups.
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Around 6 p.m. Thursday, the shelter announced it would be offering another round of adoptions on Friday morning — and potential adopters did not think twice before heading out to the ACPS building.
The adoption is set to begin at 10 a.m., but people began lining up outside the ACPS building around 7:30 p.m. Thursday, and the line continued to grow with at least 30 people in line as of 6:30 a.m.
In a Facebook post, ACPS posted pictures of the 19 daschunds that will be available for adoption on Friday.
One person who has adopted a dachshund already is Bethany Michel, who also made a TikTok video of this situation that got more than a million views.
“I got up and I came right in. That is where I was sitting on the floor looking at this little girl, plus one more, and I made that video to just try to spread awareness, especially because they had an influx coming in,” Michel said.
Michel encouraged those interested in adopting a dachshund to stay connected toACPS’s Facebook page.
Free adoptions are being offered all month long as part of the Clear the Cage campaign at ACPS, which included an adoption event that happened at the Jaguars game last Sunday.
More than 300 other dogs are still looking for homes, too.
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