Pets

Clear the Shelters finds forever homes for over 900 local animals

Eight local animal shelters waived their adoption fees Saturday as part of the Clear the Shelters campaign, creating long lines at shelters across the area as people looked to bring home a new best friend.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — Thousands of animals went from living lonely lives in shelter cages to a warm forever home Saturday as part of a nationwide effort.

WRAL-TV, in partnership with the Humane Society of the U.S., teamed up with eight local animal shelters to host Clear the Shelters, the second annual nationwide pet adoption drive.

Each participating shelter waived adoption fees on Saturday, July 23 as part of the nationwide NBCUniversal Clear the Shelters initiative.

The event created long lines at shelters across the area as people looked to bring home a new best friend.

“I love Lacy. She looks like an awesome dog. She was home trained, that was the best thing about it, and when I went in the kennel it was perfect, so I’m happy,” said new dog owner Jazzmen Hines.

Hines found her perfect dog at the Wake County Animal Center in Raleigh, which was one of three organizations in the capital city taking part in the event.

The SPCA recorded their best adoption day ever and Safe Haven for Cats in Raleigh placed their fair share of cats and kittens. It’s currently feline breeding season and the shelters have all the cats they can handle.

“We heard about it on the news last night. We had a little talk during dinner time and we were looking at all the cats then,” said Kara Moser.

At the Moore County Animal Center in Carthage, people were lining up before the doors opened at 10 a.m.

“Actually, we came here to get a dog, but unfortunately, all of the dogs were adopted out so we ended up looking at the kittens and I fell in love,” said one new pet owner.

In Durham, there were treats, tender words, back rubs and wagging tails while the Person County Animal Services in Roxboro saw a steady stream of people going out the door with dogs and cats.

In total, 907 animals were adopted locally and more than 44,300 adoptions, more than double the amount from 2015, were recorded across the country.

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