Wake County Animal Center waives adoption fees to combat surge in homeless animals

The center is approaching maximum capacity and hopes this will help encourage the community to adopt.

"We had tremendous success with our last long-timer campaign, with 32 dogs finding forever homes over just a 10-day period at the beginning of May – we know Wake County can come to the rescue again," said Wake County Board of Commissioner Cheryl Stallings. "Our community continues to show incredible support for our animals and our shelter – it's the only one in Wake County that does not turn any animals away."

The center is waiving all adoption fees for dogs that have been living in shelter pens for 21 days or more.

The week-long promotion will end on June 12.

The center currently has 95 dogs on the adoption floor. Of those 95 dogs, 45 have been waiting in the shelter for more than three weeks.

Before leaving the center, all dogs receive spay/neuter surgery, microchipping and required vaccinations.

There are 75 kennels available for dogs at the shelter off New Bern Avenue in north Raleigh. Now, to accommodate the recent overflow of pets, staff are having to divide those kennels up into two smaller compartments.

This results in a crowded adoption floor, with spacing that puts stress on the dogs’ physical and emotional health.

"While our staff and wonderful volunteers work to give the animals under our care all the attention and love we can, living for weeks on end in an animal shelter is not healthy for any animal – physically or mentally," said Dr. Jennifer Federico, Wake County Animal Center Director.