The Herald put out the call to Hunter folk on Saturday to help find homes for animals ranging from a guinea pig to a three-legged rottweiler.

Shelter acting manager Scott Meyers said the result was overwhelming, with staff run off their feet on Saturday and Sunday, adopting out abandoned pets, some part of the 1200 dumped at the shelter over the Christmas/new year period.

Mr Meyers said the weekend adoptions were a record, with only 14 recorded on the same weekend last year.

Aberglasslyn resident Leanne Hill, who recently had her family pet dog of 14 years put down, was keen to get her children another dog and after reading Saturday’s Herald, visited the shelter.

While she and her children had Jack the Jack Russell, who was featured in Saturday’s story, picked out, they were disappointed to find he had been adopted by another family.

Instead, the Hills left the shelter with two, eight-week-old rottweiler/cattle dog cross puppies.

Brother and sister Diesel and Zali spent their first night with the family on Sunday and have made themselves quite at home.

Mr Meyers said 18 animals were adopted on Saturday and 22 on Sunday.

A strong crowd continued to view pets at the shelter yesterday.

‘‘It was a huge response and our staff were overwhelmed,’’ he said.