On Friday April 30, Ellen DeGeneres will join Postmaster General John Potter for the official Adopt A Shelter Pet stamp dedication ceremony at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in Hollywood, California when the stamps will go on sale at post offices nationwide. In Fort Myers, Postmaster Anne Murray will present a stamp enlargement of the stamps to Lee County Domestic Animal Services at the Page Field Post Office, 2655 N Airport Rd at 10:00 a.m. Finalists in the student pet essay contest will be announced and essays will be on display. First Day of Sale postmarks for the Adopt A Shelter Pet stamps will be offered from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Animal Services will have puppies and kittens at the dedication.

On Saturday May 1st Fort Myers Postmaster Anne Murray teams up with Lee County Domestic Animal Services at 5600 Banner Dr, Ft Myers for an Adopt-A-Thon from 11:30 – 2:00 featuring a pet placemat craft activity for children ages 6-12, face painting, adoption certificates and final judging of the student pet essay contest by balloting with trophies awarded at 2:00 p.m. All adoptions are 50% off and include a collectible First Day of Sale postmarked adoption certificate. All adopted pets will be entered in a drawing to win First-Class photo postage stamps featuring the new pet.

Every year 6-8 million cats and dogs enter animal shelters and, of that number, nearly half are euthanized.