City of San Bernardino Animal Services Department waives all fees for pet adoptions

The City of San Bernardino Animal Services Department has partnered with the Best Friends Animal Society to waive adoption fees for their next 100 cat and dog adoptions in an effort to reduce overcrowding, according to a news release issued on June 27.

The free adoptions include microchip, vaccines, as well as spay/neuter.

Residents of any city are encouraged to take advantage of this free offer.

"With the San Bernardino shelter at a critical capacity, we wanted to offer residents a way to open up their hearts and homes without having to open their wallets," said Kaylee Hawkins, Pacific regional director at Best Friends Animal Society.  "We are excited to help our partners at San Bernardino City Animal Services continue to find homes for the animals in their care."

The shelter has been exceeding its housing capacity for dogs for six months. Despite having 130 dog kennels, the shelter has regularly housed more than 150 dogs.

In addition to the high number of dogs, a recent cat hoarding case in May increased the number of cats at the shelter to more than 120 cats and kittens.

"We are asking for help from our community members to come out and adopt some of our pets," said San Bernardino Animal Services Director Kris Watson. "We are extremely grateful to our partners at Best Friends for helping to make this possible. We have so many friendly dogs and cats right now looking for families to give them a home."

According to 2021 data released by the Best Friends Animal Society, shelters nationwide saw an 8.1 percent increase in dogs and cats, and the number of adoptions has not kept pace with the increased occupancy. This trend has continued in 2022, causing shelter overcrowding to worsen.

The Department is also eager to empty kennels at the shelter before the upcoming July 4 holiday. Shelters traditionally see an increase in stray animals around July 4 as the sounds associated with fireworks can scare animals and cause them to escape from their homes and yards. The Department of Animal Services encourages pet owners to prepare now for the holiday weekend to reduce the likelihood of their pet escaping and ending up at the shelter.

For residents who can't adopt a pet right now, the shelter is encouraging community members to consider temporarily fostering shelter pets, which doesn't require the permanent commitment to pet ownership.

"Getting out of the shelter, even for a short period of time helps to decrease an animal's stress and gives us more information about how the dog or cat is out of the kennel," said Watson. "Plus, if you can't commit to a full-time pet, you get the amazing experience of pet ownership for a short period of time -- a "win-win" for both the pet and the foster caretaker."

The City of San Bernardino Animal Shelter is located at 333 Chandler Place and is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (909) 384-7272.