Harris County Pets Is Waiving Adoption Fees for All Dogs Indefinitely
Like many other shelters across the Houston region, the Harris County Pets Resource Center continues to face an animal overpopulation this year with over 490 dogs currently in its custody. In response, the shelter is currently waiving adoption fees for all dogs indefinitely and implementing other measures to control the influx of animals.
“We know this has been a stressful time at the shelter for all our pets, especially our longer-stay dogs,” Dr. Max Vigilant, Interim Director of Harris County Pets and Veterinary Public Health said. “Rest assured, our staff, volunteers and partners have worked tirelessly to save the lives of our healthy animals and count on the support of the community to assist in our cause. We ask all residents to consider adopting a pet responsibly. If they cannot adopt, they can support us in other ways by fostering temporarily, donating food, toys and other pet items, or by volunteering at our shelter.”
No appointment is needed to schedule an adoption appointment at the shelter. “We welcome all walk-ins,” Dr. Vigilant said.
Harris County Pets is also taking the following additional actions to temporarily control animal intake at its facility:
- Suspend animal intakes from the public (specifically unincorporated Harris County) through November 4. The shelter’s animal control operations will continue to impound and intake stray animals during this period.
- Reduce the number of owner surrender appointments each week to 30 animals after November 4.
- Reach out to rescue and networking partners to have over 150 animals that have stayed for more than 45 days rescued by November 4.
- Effective November 5th, implement a new policy stating that animals entering the shelter will be held no longer than 60 days, unless a medical condition prevents release.
Despite the spike in the animal population at the shelter and since the COVID-19 pandemic subsided earlier this year, HCP has maintained an annual live release (or save) rate of over 90 percent since 2019. It is important to note, Harris County Pets has not recently euthanized dogs to manage its current overpopulation.
An animal shelter is regarded as a “no-kill” facility if it achieves a save rate of over 90 percent. This percentage is based on data showing that pets suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being rehomed typically does not exceed 10 percent of all pets entering the shelter system.
“It is important to note that our at-risk animals that have stayed at our facility for an extended period go through an evaluation process by staff members from different areas of our operation” Dr. Vigilant said. “The physical and mental well-being of these animals are examined and all options of saving them are considered before any final decision is taken.”
For more information on adoptions, fostering, volunteering, and donating to Harris County Pets, please visit www.CountyPets.com or call (281) 999-3191. The Harris County Pets Clinic also provides low-cost veterinary services for pet owners and their furry companions.