Clear The Shelters

Low-cost pet adoption initiative under way

By CJ HADDAD cjhaddad@breezenewspapers com

Now might be the perfect time to add a new four-legged friend to the family, as local shelters are taking part in a nationwide campaign to help animals find new homes

T h r o u g h o u t t h e m o n t h o f A u g u s t ,

C U n i v e r s a l L o c a l ’ s n a t i o n w i d e p e t adoption and donation campaign, “Clear The Shelters,” will return for its ninth consecutive year As part of the initiative, Lee County Domestic Animal Services, NBC, and Telemundo are partnering to promote pet adoption

From Aug 1 through 25, all dog adoptio reduced to just $20 and cats/kitten adoptions to $10 with an approved application The month-long event will culminate from 10 a m to 4 p m on Aug 26, with the waived adoption event at 5600 Banner Drive, Fort Myers

“The marketing involved with Clear The Shelters helps get the word out about the benefits of adoption versus buying and also the importance of helping shelter pets,” said spokeswoman for Lee County Domestic Animal Services Karen Frick. “It also increases traffic into our facility and drives our adoption rate up not only for the day of our event, but the entire month

LCDAS currently has more than 80 dogs and 60 cats/kittens in its care, with more returning from foster care each day

Frick said this number changes daily as does the intake rate

With Hurricane Ian having displaced so many pets from their families for a multitude of reasons, Clear The Shelters helps those that have been thinking about adding an addition to their family save money

“Now is the perfect time to adopt and give a possibly displaced pet a new home,” Frick said “Our adoption floor has seen a steady increase in pets over the past six months and many have been obviously well cared for and we would love for them to go back into a loving home as soon as possible ”

Of course, with a new pup or cat comes new responsibilities

“We encourage prospective pet adopters to do some rch ahead of adopting,” Frick said “For xample, what type of pet will fit into your family and lifestyle? Is one breed a better fit, or a certain age or activity level?”

Since its inception in 2015, Clear The Shelters has helped more than 860,000 pets find new homes. In 2022, the campaign established a new single-year record with more than 161,000 adoptions, while also raising more than $540,000 Nearly 1,400 animal shelters and rescues in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam participated in last year’s efforts

We are proud that Clear The Shelters supmany outstanding shelters and rescues in our communities that perform the vital work of caring for vulnerable animals, so we are very excited for the campaign’s return this August to help them find new homes for animals in need and raise more money to fund their efforts,” said Meredith McGinn, NBCUniversal Local’s e x e c u t i v e v i c e p r e s i d e n t o f D i g i n e t s & O r i g i n a l Production, in a release “We are so thankful for our many generous supporters and partners, including our employees, participating shelters, affiliate stations and Hill’s Pet Nutrition, who enable Clear The Shelters to make such a meaningful impact each year ”

Another local shelter taking part in Clear The Shelters, as it has over the past six years, is Gulf Coast Humane Society

“It has been a wonderful experience with dual purposes in helping as a fundraiser and as an adoption campaign,” said GCHS spokesperson Brian Wierima

Currently, GCHS has 70-plus dogs and 80-plus cats in its care Wierima said not all are up for adoption, but will be eventually

The impacts of Hurricane Ian are still being felt for pets, with Wierima saying, “Since the hurricane, adoption numbers have been down and owner surrenders up With one adoption, forever families can make an impact on numerous shelter animals, since it opens up kennel space and GCHS can take in more rescues ”

For more information on Clear The Shelters or to donate, visit www.clearthesheltersfund.org. Adoptable pets may be found at leegov com/animalservices/adopt /search and gulfcoasthumanesociety org