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For the volunteers of PetConnect Rescue, a dog and cat rescue organization located in Potomac, the adoption event is the heart of their outreach effort.

Meeting potential adopters is paramount in pet rescue and the adoption event is the stage where each dog or cat can show his or her stuff and win hearts. The website: www.petconnectrescue.org has a wide following, but the hands-on experience of adoption events is the ultimate means of bringing pets and people together.

These events are staged in every part of Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. They take place at malls, at pet stores, at restaurants and at events of every type including sporting events such as a tennis tournament.

Featured here is a photographic peek at the scene of PetConnect’s adoption event taking place at the Citi Open Tennis Tournament in Washington, D.C., on its opening day called Kid’s Day. Families are invited to attend the qualifying matches and participate in kid-friendly sports and games.

It is at places such as the Citi Open that the dogs can be seen and touched and hugged. It is here that someone who may have lost a pet or is ready to adopt, may fall in love with a pup or a senior dog that had been saddened by the loss of his or her family.

At their table under the trees, volunteers and their rescued dogs met with families and kids, tennis players and officials who stopped to say hello and bond with some furry and enthusiastic pooches ready to find their forever home.

Carole Dell is a board member of PetConnect Rescue.