Clear the Shelters

media release: Dane County Humane Society (DCHS) is partnering with NBC15 to host the ninth annual Clear The Shelters adoption event throughout the month of August.

During the first three weeks of August, we will reduce adoption fees of a different animal group each week, culminating with the main Clear The Shelters event on Saturday, August 26, and Sunday, August 27.

We're kicking off the month with the purr-fect promotion: adoption fees for all adoptable cats will be 50 percent off the regular prices from Tuesday, August 1 through Sunday, August 6.

We will announce weekly promotion details throughout August on our website, Facebook, and Instagram.

Shelter hours: Monday 12:00pm - 7:00pm; Tuesday 2:00pm - 7:00pm; Wednesday Closed; Thursday-Friday 12:00pm - 7:00pm; Saturday-Sunday 11:00am - 5:00pm.

Animal shelters and rescues continue to struggle with high intakes but slower adoptions, meaning animals are waiting longer to find their new homes. NBCUniversal’s campaign comes at a great time to promote pet adoption and animal welfare with the goal of finding new families for all of the animals in care, thus clearing shelters. Last year, DCHS was among 1,400 shelters nationwide to partake in the campaign, with over 161,000 adoptions completed.

“On an average weekend, our Adoptions staff usually finds families for just over 20 animals, but during last year’s Clear The Shelters weekend, DCHS found new homes for over 80 pets,” says Lisa Bernard, Public Relations Coordinator at DCHS. “We are very excited to see how this month of promotions brings us closer to our goal of sending all adoptable animals home with new families by the end of the event.”

Adoptions are first come, first served. Most animals are adopted quickly, so those interested in a particular animal should not wait to adopt. As a general guideline, dogs stay at DCHS for an average length of 9 days and cats for 14 days, before finding their new home, but there are animals who find their new families within hours of arriving at DCHS. This means adopters must act fast so they do not miss out on adding a specific pet to their family.

If you're looking for a fur-iend to add to your family, now is the perfect time. To see animals looking for new, loving homes, click here.