Adoption fees at Peoria County Animal Protection Services are set at $50 or less until Saturday, May 13.
“Empty the Shelters” is a quarterly event created by the Bissell Pet Foundation that reimburses some of the cost of lowered adoption fees to local shelters.
The Bissell Pet Foundation started Empty the Shelters in 2016 and claims to have enabled more than 140,000 adoptions in 49 states and Canada.
PCAPS director Becky Spencer said the typical cost of an adoption ranges from $75 to $200. Older animals, over seven years, already are $50, and will have their adoption fee waived entirely during the event.
“Shelters across the country are seeing an increase in the number of pets coming in, especially after COVID and 2020, when the numbers were down,” said Spencer. “And the numbers just keep going up since then, and haven't stopped. And so intake is as high as it's ever been, if not higher.”
The event also comes at a crucial time for PCAPS: just before a summer surge of kitten births.
“It certainly fills up our kennels. But also then takes away I would say from some of the opportunities for adult cats to get adopted,” Spencer said. “So we're excited, before the explosion of kittens happens, that some of our adult cats will really get highlighted during this time, and we hope they’ll find new homes.”
All you need to adopt is a photo I.D. and the time to search for a good match. You can find a list of some of PCAPS available adoptable animals ahead of time here.
