Nine animals — five cats and four dogs — now have new homes for Christmas after being adopted during the first Operation Adoption event at the Veterans Memorial Museum this past weekend on Dec. 21.

The event was organized by Kristi Popenoe, a peer counselor at Veterans Journey Forward, a nonprofit focused on helping veterans with counseling and navigating benefits that operates out of the museum.

“We had a really good turnout. An estimated 100 to 125 people showed up,” Veterans Memorial Museum Executive Director Chip Duncan said on Monday, Dec. 23, in a phone call with The Chronicle. “We even had a couple people just show up to go through the museum, and next thing we know they’re over there holding cats.”

“Busy day and we cannot thank the Veterans Memorial Museum enough for putting this event on,” Red Rose Animal Rescue said in a Facebook post. “Another huge thank you to Totally Pawsome and Pacific NW Pet Center for the amazing goodie bags they put together and sent home with all of the animals that were adopted today!”

Duncan added that Red Rose Animal Rescue has yet to host an adoption event where 10 or more animals are adopted, but this past weekend’s “was really close.”

“Last I heard, we still had two pending adoptions,” Duncan said.

Popenoe worked with Rochester’s Red Rose Animal Rescue and Feisty Felines feral cat rescue, which brought cats and dogs available for adoptions.

With animal shelter space at a premium in both Thurston and Lewis counties, both Duncan and Popenoe are already planning the next Operation Adoption event. They are aiming to hold it in either March or April of 2025.

“We’re going to try to turn it into a bigger event with more vendors, because of course the weather will be nicer by that time, so that way we can utilize a lot more of the outdoor space,” Duncan said. “It’s better for the dogs, it’s better for the cats, it’s better for everyone than trying to cram us all into the museum and breezeway.”

For those who missed Saturday’s adoption event but are still looking for a new furry friend, animals are still available for adoption.

Message Red Rose Animal Rescue on Facebook at https://tinyurl.com/mrybebev and Feisty Felines at https://tinyurl.com/ff6unb3y to learn more about the animals still available.