An animal shelter in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, thanked those who responded to their viral Storm Area 51-themed Facebook post on Monday.
“The response to #stormtheshelter has been out of this world! Thank you all who have supported, shared, donated and adopted,” the OKC Animal Welfare shelter wrote.
“Let’s continue to show everyone that adoption isn’t that far out of this world and support your local shelters!” the post concluded.
The initial post that went viral over the weekend included pictures of available pets wearing tinfoil hats and alien costumes.
“Come storm our shelter… We have great animals ready to protect you from the Area 51 aliens. Adoption isn’t that far out of this world!” the Facebook post said.
The OKC Animal Welfare later confirmed that two of the animals featured in the post, a pointer-boxer-mix and a Labrador mix, were adopted. The shelter also reportedly raised $2,250 for the Patrons of the Oklahoma City Animal Shelter.
The Storm Area 51 Facebook event was started as a joke by Facebook user Jackson Barnes, who wrote on the event page, “Hello US government, this is a joke, and I do not actually intend to go ahead with this plan.”
“I just thought it would be funny and get me some thumbsy uppies on the Internet,” Barnes wrote. “I’m not responsible if people actually decide to storm Area 51.”
Area 51 is located in southern Nevada on land acquired by the United States Air Force in 1955 when it was used as a testing area for the Lockheed U-2 aircraft.
The area has been the subject of conspiracy theories for decades, and many people believe the site is where the U.S. government houses secrets regarding so-called “extra-terrestrial activity.”
However, in response to the Facebook event, Airforce spokesperson Laura McAndrews said, “[Area 51] is an open training range for the US Air Force, and we would discourage anyone from trying to come into the area where we train American armed forces.”
“The US Air Force always stands ready to protect America and its assets,” she concluded.
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