Animal Foundation lowers adoption fees for #SaveALifeWeek
The Animal Foundation has run out of adoption bungalows for its pets and will run a dog promotion this week to help free up space.
The shelter, which takes in about 40,000 animals each year, has hit capacity for the first time in almost two years. It will lower pit bull and chihuahua adoption fees to $40 for a week starting Wednesday in a promotion called #SaveALifeWeek.
There are more than 120 pit bulls and 60 chihuahuas housed by the foundation, taking up over half of the facility’s adoptive capacity, the organization announced Tuesday. These two breeds are considered the most at-risk and have lower chances of being adopted. The promotion will apply to dogs of either breed that are more than 6 months old.
“Nobody wants to see these incredible animals placed into loving homes more than our staff who have bonded with them, but the reality is that we’re out of space,” Christine Robinson, executive director for The Animal Foundation, said.
The shelter has just over 250 kennels, also called “adoption bungalows.” If a sibling set of animals or a mother and her litter is brought to the shelter, they stay in a kennel together, slightly increasing the facility’s capacity. Along with the bungalows, the shelter has about 25 spaces at a PetSmart in Henderson and 70 rescue groups that help house the animals. The shelter also recruits foster families, and more than 250 animals are being cared for by them.
Not all of the 40,000 animals taken in each year are eligible for adoption. Some of them are lost pets whose owners claim them, some are strays and some are on indefinite holds.
Even so, the shelter processed enough adoptions from January through April this year to save 1,800 animals from being killed, foundation spokeswoman Meghan Scheibe said Tuesday. That shows a 26 percent decrease in euthanasia compared to the same time period last year.
On average, about 200 animals per week are adopted. It’s not limited to just cats and dogs — turtles and fish are included as well. In all last year, about 10,000 animals were adopted, Scheibe said, and just under 7,000 of them were dogs. Some of the dogs currently in the shelter have been there for more than three months.
“We are asking anyone who has considered bringing a pet into their life to visit us now to meet our amazing animals,” Robinson said. “By adopting one of our shelter pets, you’ll not only save that pet’s life — you’ll help us help the hundreds of pets entering our care every week.”
The $40 adoption fee includes spaying or neutering, vaccines and a microchip. At some of the foundation’s locations, a free bag of pet food and vet exam is also included. A similar discount promotion that wasn’t limited to pit bulls and chihuahuas ran last weekend and resulted in 90 dog adoptions.
Visit the shelter at 655 N. Mojave Road in Las Vegas from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, or the PetSmart Charities Everyday Adoption Center at 286 W. Lake Mead Parkway in Henderson from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily except Sundays when they close at 7 p.m.
Contact Annalise Porter at aporter@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0264. Find her on Twitter: @annaliseporter.
