KENT COUNTY, Mich. — The Kent County Animal Shelter has extended its adoption special due to the high number of dogs in need of homes.
The adoption special started last week on Monday, which was National Dog Day. While it was only intended to be a one-day special, shelter staff decided to extend it through Saturday, Sept. 7 to help get more dogs into homes.
The special offers dog adoptions for $50. That includes a microchip, spay or neuter surgery, vaccinations, a heartworm test and a license.
Currently, the shelter has 85 dogs—and staff say they took in more than a dozen dogs over the past few days.
Angela Hollinshead, the director of the Kent County Animal Shelter, said part of the problem is that adoptions slow around this time of year.
"It is kind of a hard time of year for people to adopt, because a lot of kids are going back to school. There's a lot of changes in in lifestyles, you know, people going from summer and getting ready for, like, fall sports and all of these things," she said. "So this time of year is not, is not really busy for us for adoptions. Unfortunately, though, it has not slowed down when it comes to animals incoming into the shelter."
Anyone interested in adopting a pet should talk to shelter staff and fill out a survey to see which animals would be a good fit for them. Hollinshead said learning about potential adopters' activity levels or living situations can help staff pair them with the perfect pet.
"Our goal is to adopt these pets out to a good, loving home, into a home where they're going to stay there for the rest of their life," Hollinshead said. "That's our hope, that they don't get returned or rehomed somewhere else, and we make that process really easy."
The shelter uses a fostering system for dogs that are stressed in the shelter environment. If you would like to foster a dog, staff encourage you to visit the shelter, meet the dogs and register in person.
You can learn more and browse adoptable animals at the shelter here.