Bay Area animal shelters will offer free adoptions Saturday as part of a national campaign to find stray dogs and cats a permanent home.
The second annual “Clear the Shelters” initiative, co-sponsored by NBC and Telemundo TV stations, will take place in more than 400 shelters in 20 states.
Locally, all four Human Society Silicon Valley adoption centers—in Milpitas, San Jose, Sunnyvale and Mountain View—will participate from 10am to 6pm the day of the event. For the addresses of those locations, click here.
Santa Clara County’s animal shelter will also take part in an effort to adopt some 250 cats ad dogs. The county pound—located at 12370 Murphy Ave., in San Martin—will be open from 10am to 4pm Saturday. Side note: the county animal shelter is a Poke Stop, for anyone who wants to multitask by adopting a new pet and catching a new Pokemon.
In addition to waiving adoption fees, which normally exceed $90, participating shelters will offer free medical screenings, vaccinations and a behavioral assessment, Santa Clara County announced earlier this week.
“There are so many pets that need a loving home and will no doubt bring tremendous joy to hundreds of families,” county Supervisor Mike Wasserman said in a press release.
According to NBC, 20,000 pets were adopted during the 2015 “Clear the Shelter” campaign. Yet millions of pets remain unhoused.
“We work very hard to find permanent homes for animals that come through our shelter,” said Amy Brown, head of the county’s Consumer and Environmental Protection Agency, which oversees the shelter.
The “Clear the Shelters” event is especially important this time of year when the shelter is overwhelmed with kittens, organizers said.
“Summer is a busy time for animal shelters in Santa Clara County,” county animal shelter manager Lisa Jenkins said. “Our goal is to find forever homes for all of them.”
For more information about the event, visit www.cleartheshelters.com. To share photos or comments on adoption day, post on social media using the hashtag #ClearTheShelters.
I’m super proud of you Daphne and I wil be sharing this information on my Facebook page. Keep up the spectacular work!
So glad to see that the local Humane Societies are doing this!
We adopted a rescue animal from one of the local Humane Societies, and our new pet is just so lovable. We are so happy we adopted from the Humane Society.
I’ve adopted nine cats/kittens over the years, all from the Humane Society. They’re excellent pets; no different in personality types than an expensive, purebred furball. Our latest addition has a purr motor that would register a 2 – 3 on the Richter scale.
After I retired, I volunteered at the Milpitas Humane Society for several years. (I eventually quit; couldn’t take seeing what goes on behind the scenes.) But if anyone is interested in giving an animal a second chance, an abandoned dog or cat is just as satisfying, if not more so, than a $500 (and up) fleabag. They all shed and drool equally well.
My wife is also a cat person. It’s her fault that we now have (4) four. And another one came with the house we bought about ten years ago, at no extra charge. Our veterinarian is also pleased with the job security that our 4 indoor and one outdoor cats provide.
When I was growing upe never had cats, only dogs. So I didn’t think much of felines. But I was given a kitten by a girlfriend when I was in my 20’s, following the Civil War. I found that cats are every bit as loyal, friendly, and teachable as dogs. They’re different, that’s all (very different!) They take patience and love, but you get it back — doubled and squared.
Another benefit: you can leave a cat alone for a weekend with just a litter box, water and dry food. Can’t do that with a dog, they need their daily walks. They don’t quite get the litter box concept…
So if you want a little companionship, a dog or cat fills the need. And they really do appreciate being rescued. No matter how much the Humane Societies take care of them, there’s no place like home… for pets, just like people.
OMG..are they even going to screen the people taking these animals? How do they know they are not going to become bait for a fighting operation? Abused by some sicko? A free animal is a huge red flag,there is no incentive to make a commitment to love and care for the animal long term. This is a terrible idea.