North County Animal Shelters Waive Adoption Fees Saturday

OCEANSIDE, CA — North County residents looking to add a pet to their family can adopt for free Saturday as San Diego Humane Society waives adoption fees during a one-day effort to make room for more animals entering its shelters.

The fee-free adoption event will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 29 as part of the national Clear the Shelters campaign.

The organization said it is caring for nearly 1,900 animals while an average of 80 animals enter its care each day. The average length of stay for dogs has increased to 59 days, a 28% increase from last year.

San Diego Humane Society has helped 1,432 pets find homes so far this month after offering half-price adoption fees throughout August. Despite those adoptions, the organization said it needs more people to adopt to create space for incoming animals.

"Every adoption creates space for another animal who may have nowhere else to go," said Dr. Gary Weitzman, president and CEO of San Diego Humane Society. "Our shelters are caring for a remarkable number of animals, and this Saturday is an opportunity for the community to make an immediate, lifesaving difference."

All adopted pets are spayed or neutered, microchipped and vaccinated, according to the organization.

San Diego Humane Society offers walk-in adoptions from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday at its campuses in El Cajon, Escondido, Oceanside and San Diego.

Available animals can be viewed at sdhumane.org/adopt.

Clear the Shelters is a national pet adoption campaign led by NBCUniversal and Telemundo.