HOUSTON – It’s the final weekend of Clear the Shelters, a nationwide effort that promotes animal adoption and raises funds to support animal welfare. Animal shelters and rescues across the country team up with NBC and Telemundo stations to find forever homes for pets in need.
This campaign comes at a time that’s critical as many shelters and rescues nationwide are inundated with animals. While some are at capacity, many are over capacity. Houston Humane Society is just one of the thousands of shelters and rescues participating in the effort.
Janet Denton is a volunteer with the Houston Humane Society. Saturday morning, she helped exercise a dog by the name of Paris.
“Paris is heartworm positive and one of the best ways you can do to help a dog here at the Houston Humane Society is to sponsor their treatment. It’s easy to do and it really helps out the dogs,” explained Denton.
The volunteer wants people to know if you’re not able to adopt, there are other ways to get involved, including volunteering your time at shelters and rescues, donating money and fostering.
Angelina Saucedo is the marketing manager Houston Humane Society.
“Right now, we are at full capacity, more so with large animals. We saw record adoption numbers during the pandemic, and what’s happening right now, unfortunately, it’s the pandemic puppies that are coming back, so puppies that were adopted during the pandemic are coming back as 2-year-old adults,” Saucedo said.
Meanwhile, at Houston SPCA, there are hundreds of more animals in need of a forever home. Melon is about 2 years old and she weighs about 37 pounds. She is ready for adoption. She’s been at Houston SPCA for more than 30 days.
Julie Kuenstle is VP of communications at Houston SPCA. She said, “We really want to talk about how animals wind up in a shelter in the first place. It’s really through no fault of their own. They are great animals, they are great pets, and we all know the healthy benefits of adopting a pet. Some people come in looking for a puppy and they walk out with a senior.”
Also contributing to this nationwide effort is CanoHealth. A healthcare system that affirms the bond between humans and animals is good for our health. It’s one of many sponsors of Clear the Shelters.
Joe Perez is VP of operations at CanoHealth.
“There’s so many benefits of bringing home that companion, whenever you think about the physical and mental health benefits, the lower blood pressure, improved cardiovascular health, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder,” Perez said.
Clear the Shelters was adopted as a campaign in 2015. Since then, through the effort close to 30,000 pets in the Houston area have found new homes. Nationwide, that number is close to 790,000 animals and more than $3.4 million has been raised to benefit shelters and rescues.
Some participating shelters and rescues have waived or discounted fees. Clear the Shelters continues through August 31.
If you find your forever friend, let us know by sending us an email at pets@kprc.com.
KPRC’s Zach Lashway hosts ‘Pet Connection,’ an ongoing segment on KPRC 2+ that showcases the need for adoption through heartwarming stories about the bonds between people and pets. You can watch Pet Connection anytime on KPRC 2+.