COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) – Paws Humane Society is collaborating with the Bissell Pet Foundation to take homeless animals from kennels to permanent homes.
The Empty the Shelters event is a week-long event lasting from Monday to Friday, with over 280 shelters in 42 states participating alongside Paws Humane Society.
The event at Paws Humane Society allows local residents to adopt animals at a reduced fee. For dogs, the adoption fee has been reduced to $50, and cat adoption fees have been lowered to $20.
The Director of Marketing and Development for Paws Humane Society, Josh McQuien, shared why the event is being held and the goal Paws Humane Society is attempting to achieve while participating in the event.
“Basically, it’s a call to action to people in the community to come and adopt animals, to help us empty the shelters to help with the overcrowding situation,” said McQuien.
The Founder of Bissell Pet Foundation, Cathy Bissell, shared what is causing overcrowding at animal shelters and encourages people to take advantage of the partnership.
“It has been a challenging year for our nation’s animal shelters. The devastating increase in owner surrenders has left thousands of socialized, house-trained, and leash-trained pets desperate to find a home,” said Bissell. “Our fall’ Empty the Shelters’ will support the adoption of thousands of pets across the country, helping shelters in this critical time. Opening your home to a shelter pet saves a life and creates space to give another pet a chance.”
McQuien also shared why the shelter decided to participate in the event.
“This year has just been a strenuous year for all shelters across the nation,” said McQuien. “We’re just really dealing with overpopulation in shelters, adoptions have been down, and that’s why programs like partnering with Bissell Pet Foundation are really important to help us empty shelters.”
In addition, McQuien shared how individuals who are unable to take advantage of the reduced adoption fees can still offer help to the shelter.
“We utilize volunteers on daily basis; so if someone is interested in volunteering, they can just go to our website and sign-up to volunteer,” said McQuien. “We always need volunteers for off-site events to help us take care of the animals here at Paws on a daily basis.”
McQuien also shared his gratitude for the local community continuously helping Paws Humane Society.
“We just always appreciate the community, and we when we’re in need, they always step up,” said MQuien. “So we appreciate the community and all the help they give us.”
For more information about adoptable animals or to sign-up to volunteer, you can go to the Paws Humane Society website at https://pawshumane.org