ROANOKE, Va. – Starting next week, NBC’s seventh annual Clear the Shelters event begins.
The nationwide push is a way to help get animals adopted from shelters.
Here in Southwest Virginia, many animal centers are preparing for the event in hopes of finding their animals a new, loving home.
“Ideally we would love to clear our shelters. Right now we have 40 cats that are available for adoption and about 15 dogs but we always have new animals coming in,” said Montgomery County Animal Care and Adoption Center Director Eileen Mahan.
Last year, Montgomery County’s center had about 80 adoptions during the month-long event.
At the Roanoke Valley SPCA, they found homes for nearly 100 animals.
Both organizations are hoping for a similar number this year and the timing couldn’t be better.
“In the spring and early summer there are a lot of kittens being born which makes capacity at the shelters very tight. So Clear the Shelters and having such an emphasis on adopting for the next several weeks can really make a difference for the pets at the shelters and free up space to help more pets in need,” said Roanoke Valley SPCA CEO Denise Hayes.
Staff at these shelters encourage people to look into adopting a pet, rather than buying one from a breeder or a puppy mill.
“It really gives all of us as people to make a difference in our community. There are so many wonderful dogs and cats in the Roanoke Valley that are in need of homes,” said Hayes. “So when we adopt it gives them a chance to have a loving home but also for us the way they enrich our lives is just amazing. And they give us just as much as we give them,” she said.
To kick off Clear the Shelters, Roanoke Valley SPCA is hosting a kitten adoption and food donation drive at Starr Hill Brewery this Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.