Adoption fees at the Wake County Animal Center are waived through Aug. 31 as part of the nationwide Clear the Shelters campaign, an annual push to help more animals find homes during the summer months. Organizers say the effort not only relieves crowding at the county’s only intake facility but also raises awareness of the long-term responsibilities of pet ownership.

The Wake County Animal Center is the only open-intake shelter for all of Wake County, taking in lost pets as well as animals surrendered by their owners. The shelter also handles animals involved in legal cases, such as those seized by animal control or removed from abuse and neglect situations. Animals that come through the center range from dogs and cats to cows, snakes and guinea pigs.

Meagan Frost, the community outreach manager for the center, promotes events, classes and workshops held by the center, as well as reaching out to find volunteers and foster homes. She said collaboration with other animal services is essential, given the number and variety of pets they see each year.

“We typically take in somewhere between eight and nine thousand animals each year,” Frost said, “and I can tell you, we do not have eight to nine thousand kennels in our building.”

Rescue and foster partners are essential for helping ease the burden. A reptile sanctuary might take in the turtles they receive, or a household that loves great danes might jump at the chance to temporarily home another dog.

As a state-funded facility, the center is obligated to take in animals under certain conditions, such as those with behavioral issues, but they provide surrender services because they are necessary to the community. 

“We also fully understand that if we don’t, who will?” Frost said.

This increased range of services means that the shelter is often limited on space, if not pushing its capacity. Frost said that in these circumstances, they must come up with innovative ways to clear the kennels.

“We, quite frankly, always need room,” Frost said.

The center’s current promotion is the Clear the Shelters Extravaganza, where all adoption fees are waived. Frost said this is an important step to get more people out to the shelter and consider adopting animals.

“If we can reduce that adoption fee, or even waive that adoption fee to help incentivize people to look at us as an adoption center, and not just the pound or animal control,” Frost said.

The event is hosted by over 1,000 animal shelters across America at the end of every summer, typically in August. Their process is all still the same, but the initial barrier of fees can instead go towards the dog’s first bag of food or the kitten’s litter box.

“We’re waiving the adoption fee, but everything else that we do, from matchmaking to the adoption counseling at the front desk to sending them home, is still the same,” Frost said.

Kimberly Ange-van Heugten, an associate professor of animal science at NC State who teaches companion-animal science, said the summer timing helps address spikes in puppies and kittens.

“These events, in my opinion, are needed,” Ange-van Heugten said. “And in the summer, I think, is a really good time to do it, so that we are encouraging people to help the animals that need the help.”

It is important for those considering adoption to be aware of the responsibilities they are taking on. Ange-van Heugten said adoption events like Clear the Shelters can sometimes encourage people to not think through the financial and temporal implications of pet ownership, and it is the shelter’s responsibility to provide the appropriate education to their clients to deter any false notions.

“If you want to get that animal, you’re like, ‘Hey, it’s free.’ And that’s their job to say, ‘No, it’s not free. It still has to eat, it may have to go to doggy daycare, it may get sick,’” Ange-van Heugten said.

Ange-van Heugten said the most important thing is to consider all long-term changes that a pet might bring on and what they might look like in each individual’s life. She suggested online surveys that match owners to different breeds and species based on their lifestyles.

“It’s making you think about stuff like, do I have a small apartment? Do I like to take walks? Do I have a fence in my backyard? Do I want kids in the next five to 10 years? What kind of money am I making?”

Ange-van Heugten said that, especially for college students who are moving between homes and living with different people year by year, spur-of-the-moment decisions can lead to animals suffering down the line.

“Right now, you might be a fish person, because that’s what you can afford,” Ange-van Heugten said.

Frost said all animals currently up for adoption are available to be viewed on the Wake County Animal Center’s website. There is a catalog that can be sorted by what each individual is looking for. The shelter is also open for anyone to walk in and interact with the animals.

“They can meet any dogs or cats that they’re interested in, talk to staff and volunteer matchmakers, take them out to the play yard and maybe take them out on a walk,” Frost said.

Above all, she said it is important that animals go to loving homes and are well taken care of. 

“I want people to have animals. I think a home is often a better place with an animal in it. A family is often a better family having animals in it,” Ange-van Heugten said. “They help us. We help them.”