This will mark the final weekend of the “Clear the Shelters” event at Riverside County animal shelters and private animal adoption centers throughout the region, where impounded pets can be adopted with most fees waived.
“Please consider opening your hearts and your homes to a shelter pet, who will unconditionally pour their love and loyalty into you,” county Board of Supervisors Chairman Manuel Perez said. “These animals really possess the power to change your life for the better.”
The Clear the Shelters campaign is part of a public-private partnership held annually every summer, inspired by the desire to see homeless dogs and cats placed in “forever homes.”
This year’s effort began at the start of the month and concludes this weekend.
The county’s Coachella Valley Animal Campus in Thousand Palms, San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus and Western Riverside County Animal Shelter in Jurupa Valley are all participating.
“Riverside County animals deserve our best, and free adoptions make it that much easier to connect people with pets,” Fifth District Supervisor Yxstian Gutierrez said.
Prospective adopters can pick out a dog or cat without having to worry about paying the cost of vaccination, microchipping, spay/neuter and impoundment, or in the case of residents who have lost their pets but show up to reclaim them — no reclamation fees. Only canine licensing fees — which for altered dogs is generally $25 or less — are required, based on where an adopter resides.
As of Thursday, roughly 1,000 canines and felines were available for adoption at county shelters. Not all of the impounded pets, however, are housed on-site. Some, especially kittens and younger cats, have been placed with “pet fosters,” who have agreed to keep them temporarily. The county is always seeking additional fosters to free up space under tight capacity constraints.
Along with the county, the Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center in Riverside and other public and private shelters are taking part in the final weekend of the campaign.
More information is available at clearthesheltersfund.org/ and rcdas.org/.