{"id":581,"date":"2018-08-17T17:02:06","date_gmt":"2018-08-18T00:02:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/?p=999914947"},"modified":"2018-08-17T17:02:06","modified_gmt":"2018-08-18T00:02:06","slug":"clear-the-shelters-offers-thousands-of-cats-dogs-and-rabbits-a-way-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/pets\/clear-the-shelters-offers-thousands-of-cats-dogs-and-rabbits-a-way-out","title":{"rendered":"Clear the Shelters offers thousands of cats, dogs and rabbits a way out"},"content":{"rendered":"

Please send any Long Beach or Seal Beach pet-related events or projects to\u00a0pets@lbpost.com<\/a>. Posting subject to approval.<\/em><\/p>\n

Virtually Pets<\/h1>\n

This weekend, thousands of people will visit shelters across the country to meet cats, dogs and bunnies waiting for their new homes. Every year at this time, NBC- and Telemundo-owned stations team up with shelters across the country to ease overcrowding and fend off euthanasia by adopting out pets at reduced rates to homes across the country. Their sponsored event, Clear the Shelters, has been in operation since 2015 and has found homes for over 150,000 pets.<\/p>\n

Pet lovers and advocates have voiced concerns over handing off animals at a reduced fee. They fear neglect of the animal, inability to financially support a pet, and even torture. The worries are understandable and in character with passion for animal welfare. However, Best Friends Animal Society<\/a>\u2019s publication \u201cReduced-Fee Adoption Promotions: Concerns and Responses\u201d<\/a> summarized studies on the matter and laid out the success rates of lowered adoption fees. The practice, the author wrote, doesn\u2019t devalue an animal but acts as an attractant to people who might not otherwise understand how overcrowded shelters are and how each animal there has a sad story. And of course, how loveable they all are.<\/p>\n

\u201cLots of people get their animals (especially cats) from friends or family or from \u2018free to good home\u2019 situations,\u201d the article stated. \u201cJust because they acquired their pets for little or no money doesn\u2019t mean they can\u2019t afford to care for them or don\u2019t provide good homes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pets adopted from a shelter will have had their first inoculations, a veterinary exam, and best of all, a spay or a neuter procedure. Most shelters, including ACS, are required to spay or neuter any pet leaving the facility. Therefore, any deliberate or accidental birth has been prevented, and there will be no future offspring to further crowd shelters.<\/p>\n

Most shelter volunteers and employees are alert to any red flags\u2014the screening of potential adopters goes beyond the paperwork involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cClear the Shelters is how they promote getting people in, but it doesn\u2019t change the screening process,\u201d said Ted Stevens, ACS\u2019s manager. \u201cI think all of our volunteers and staff are hypervigilant. They don\u2019t want to see animals go into bad homes.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is not to say that there are no incidents of pets going to bad homes from events like Clear the Shelters. There are. There are also shelter dumpings and horror stories involving animals from puppy-mill-populated pet stores, neighbor giveaways, rescues (who do their damndest) and even breeders\u2014purebreds wind up in shelters, too. If 150,000 animals went home during Clear the Shelter events and most of them weren\u2019t success stories, we\u2019d have heard about it. Meanwhile, it\u2019s not just the shelter staff and volunteers who need to ensure success\u2014it\u2019s also the adopters. The love of a companion animal is priceless, no matter the cost. If you\u2019re looking for a new best buddy and want to pay a low fee that will give you leftover funds for food, toys and future medical care, consider the following:<\/p>\n