Take home a new furry family member during Miami-Dade Animal Services "Empty the Shelters" event
MIAMI - Have you been thinking about getting a new furry friend?
Miami-Dade Animal Services has a deal for you. From May 1st through May 15, the county's shelter is waving adoption fees for pets four months and older. The usual adoption fee for dogs is $85 and for cats, it's $35.
They're doing it as part of the spring "Empty the Shelters" national adoption event. More than 350 shelters in 45 states are taking part in the event which is sponsored by the BISSELL Pet Foundation and Dogtopia.
"This is a very difficult time for shelters across the country, with increasing owner surrenders due to the housing crisis and inflation as well as slowed adoption rates. With Dogtopia's partnership, we are hopeful more pets than ever will find homes during this national event," said Cathy Bissell, Founder of BISSELL Pet Foundation.
Since the 2016 inception of BISSELL Pet Foundation's "Empty the Shelters," nearly 140,000 pets at 605 animal welfare organizations in 47 states and Canada have received second chances. An average of 1,000 shelter pets are adopted each day during each quarterly national event.
Dade's Animal Services participated in the "Empty the Shelters" campaign in December of 2022 and 205 pets were adopted. The shelter said larger dogs often have a harder time finding homes and spend more time there waiting for loving families. They encourage people to open their hearts and homes to medium and large dogs who have so much love to give.
While the adoption fee is waived, those taking home a new family member will still have to pay a $30 tag fee. All pets adopted are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped.