Saturday was a good day for the four cats and one dog that went home from the Selma Animal Shelter with their forever families.

The Archer family made their way to Selma to find the perfect addition to their family, and that’s just what they did. Catherine, Jonathan and Lillian Archer fell in love with Princess, a dog who had been saved from an abusive situation.

“We’re incredibly excited. She’s very sweet, we could tell right away just from her demeanor,” Catherine said. “She’s got the sweetest face and we think that she’ll be great with our dog.”

The family already has one dog named Elsa, and they are happy to now have two.

“We’ll have two princesses in our house,” Catherine said.

Coming from past abuse, Catherine said she is looking forward to being able to give Princess the life she deserves.

“That’s going to be the most rewarding thing to have a chance to really spoil her and let her experience [a good life],” Catherine said. “There are so many dogs out there that it’s not their fault that they’re in these situations. [Rescues are] just as capable of love and they deserve everything that a pure bred does.”

Lynn Sanders, vice president of the Humane Society of Central Alabama, said she has seen a rise in the number of adoptions, with five in the last week, due to an extra effort in social media promotion.

Sanders said they still have three dogs up for adoption at the shelter, and two more that are going through the program but are not quite ready.

As for the cats, Sanders said Selma’s Purrrfect Pals is doing an excellent job at adopting out the feline friends to those in the community.

“They work really hard to get the cats vetted and socialized and promoted,” Sanders said.  “They are doing an amazing job of getting the cats adopted.”

Sanders said if anyone is wanting to volunteer with the program, they should contact her at 431-0476.

She asks that volunteers contact her before going to the shelter so the proper steps can be taken.

The shelter is located at 206 Medical Center Parkway in Selma and the normal business hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.  On the first Saturday of each month, except for holidays and extreme weather, the shelter is open for adoptions only from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.