Alabama Animal Shelter Uses Speed Dating To Get Longtime Residents Adopted

(CNN) — An animal shelter in Auburn, Alabama, is spicing up Valentine’s Day for its animals by matching them with potential owners in a unique way.

The Lee County Humane Society launched a two-day event on Saturday called Love Unleashed to help bring fur friends and possible owners together.

“This has been something that has been in the works for a few months now,” Kaitlyn Newell, the society’s programs assistant, told CNN. “We wanted to do something a little different for Valentine’s Day especially with the pandemic going on. I was inspired by different animal shelters using online dating services like Tinder and Bumble to match dogs with their forever homes.”

The shelter created a matchmaking quiz to help make adoption easier and allow for applicants to meet with specific cats or dogs. Future pet owners can sign up for 45-minute “blind dates” to meet their prospective true loves on either Saturday or Sunday.

“We’ve had an amazing response and have filled our appointments to the max on (Saturday) and almost have tomorrow filled up as well,” Newell said. “People seem to love taking the quiz and it truly helps us find a pet that fits their personality rather than going off looks alone.”

The shelter organized “speed dating” for the pets so interested parties can meet several pets and even created profiles for the available animals to share on social media, similar to what you might find on a human dating app.

“We wanted a type of event that would allow some of our longest residents to get a chance at finding a forever home,” Newell said.

Besides the quiz, the pets are being adopted at a discounted rate so they can start their happily ever. Animals that have been neutered or spayed are $14 while non-neutered or spayed animals are $64.