CHICAGO — The second City Series in 2023 hit during the “Dog Days of Summer,” and that took on literal meaning at Wrigley Field on Wednesday.

That’s because an organization was hoping to find some canines a new home, doing so with the Cubs’ help in a time of need.

With the shelters filling up with animals over the summer months, PAWS Chicago held an adoption day in conjunction with the MLB franchise on Wednesday ahead of the second game between the Cubs and the White Sox.

The idea was done with the aid of Lindsay Hawkins, the wife of Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins, and Emma Hendricks, the wife of pitcher Kyle Hendricks.

“They had come through PAWS in the last year and they wanted to get more deeply involved,” said PAWS Chicago CEO Susanna Wickham. “So they approached us about creating this event.”

For it, the organization brought six dogs for adoption to the event with Cubs-themed names: Gallagher, Hawkins, Hendricks, Ivy, Swanson, and Wrigley. Both Emma and Kyle Hendricks along with Lindsay Hawkins were at the event where four of the six canines found new homes.

“To have them lending their name to our homeless pets is just a really wonderful way to bring the public’s attention to a time of great need,” said Wickham.

That has only grown over the summer as the number of stray pets that have been brought to shelters has only increased over the past few months. It requires a number of people to be willing to take in some of these animals and prevent them from being put down.

“It’s already litter season, but there’s also just a high number of owner relinquishments, a higher number of strays coming in, and adoptions city-wide, were hearing, is just not keeping pace with this increased intake. So PAWS is doing everything we can to pull animals out of the pound and to raise attention on the number of cats and dogs that need homes.”

You can learn more about how to adopt a pet from PAWS Chicago here.

Larry Hawley of WGN News Now has more from the event at Wrigley Field in the video above.