Dog Lovers Come To Durham Shelter After WRAL Story

John Champlin said he saw the story on TV Monday night, so he made the drive from Raleigh to look for a dog.

"From what I can gather, so far today, there have been quite a few people that have responded," he said.

"We've heard from at least 150 people. Those were the people that were able to get through on the phone lines," said Julia Wing, of the Animal Protection Society.

Officials say not to expect to drive up and pick up your new pet in one trip. The adoption process takes three to five business days and costs $95.

Champlin said the effort is worth it.

"I think there's no better way than to come down to a place like this because they're looking for homes, and it's a great way to keep some of these animals from being put down," he said.

"This is wonderful. I'm very confident that we will have a good foster system and a lot of wonderful adopters coming out, and we're going to get as many dogs out of here as we possibly can into good homes," Wing said.

Wing said that if you have called and left a message, be patient. While they are excited about the immediate response, there is still a need to find homes for more dogs before the renovation begins on Dec. 7.