Retailers weren’t the only ones busy during the Black Friday weekend shopping frenzy.

The Animal SOS Pet Coalition of Muscogee and Harris Counties held a massive adoption program over the four-day weekend and managed to place more than 150 animals in new homes.

The coalition, which is made up of Animal SOS, PAWS Humane, Animal Ark Rescue, Columbus Animal Care & Control, Humane Society of Harris County and Harris County Animal Control, also pulled about 14 animals out of Columbus Animal Control for adoption over the weekend.

The folks at PAWS Humane on Milgen Road managed to do something they’ve never done over the weekend. For the first time in memory, they “sold out” their entire stock of almost 70 adoptable pets, according to Casey Smith, PAWS director of marketing.

“We did something we’ve never done before, which was clear the shelter,” Smith said. “We weren’t really expecting to do that, but we literally didn’t have any animals in our care, which was crazy.”

PAWS has seen a few animals returned, but only a few, Smith said.

In total, they adopted out 68 animals over the weekend, more than 50 of them on Black Friday itself, Smith said.

One reason for the success was the partnership with the Best Friends Animal Society, which paid the adoption fee for all the animals.

At PAWS, adoption fees are $75 for adult dogs, $125 for puppies, $75 for kittens and $25 for adult cats. Those fees include spaying or neutering (which is mandatory) micro-chipping and all vaccinations and preventative medicines.

“You get so much for that fee,” Smith said. “If you just take your pet to be spayed or neutered, it will be more than $125.”

Drale Short, head of the city’s Special Enforcement Division, which oversees Animal Control, said she loves to see successful drives like the one over the weekend, because it means fewer animals under her care, and thus in danger of being euthanized.

“Any time some groups can take 14 animals in a weekend, it makes a difference,” Short said.

Anyone interested in adopting an animal can see what’s available at the PAWS website, www.pawshumane.org, call 706-565-0035 or email adoptions@pawshumane.org. You can also visit the facility at 4900 Milgen Road.

Contact information for the other organizations can be found at the Animal SOS website, www.animalsosfoundation.org/pet-coalition.