Clear The Shelters Day In Baltimore: Where To Adopt

BALTIMORE, MD — Hundreds of animal shelters across the country are participating in Clear the Shelters pet adoption events on Saturday, Aug. 17, to help find loving homes for animals that have been abandoned or surrendered. Two organizations are taking part in Baltimore.

Both BARCS (Baltimore Animal Rescue & Care Shelter) and the Maryland SPCA are waiving adoption fees in hopes of clearing their shelters on Saturday.

BARCS is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, at 301 Stockholm Street, Baltimore, MD 21230. See all the adoptable animals at BARCS.

The Maryland SPCA is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 17, at 3300 Falls Rd, Baltimore, MD 21211. See all the adoptable animals at the Maryland SPCA.

BARCS and the Maryland SPCA aren't the only ones waiving adoption fees as part of the campaign.

Clear the Shelters is sponsored by NBC- and Telemundo-owned stations, which are teaming with others nationwide in the pet adoption drive. Since 2015, more than 250,000 pets have found forever homes as a result of the effort.

It’s not just dogs that are filling up shelters. The ASPCA — or American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals — estimates there are 3.3 million dogs and 3.2 million cats in shelters at any given time.

About 1.5 million of them — 670,000 dogs and 860,000 cats — are euthanized before they can be adopted, though the ASPCA says those numbers are declining, in large part because a greater percentage of them are adopted. About 1.6 million dogs and 1.6 million cats are adopted every year.

The ASPCA also says that about 620,000 dogs and 90,000 cats that enter shelters every year are strays that are eventually returned to their owners.

Adopting a pet has multiple benefits. Here are some:

1. You’ll save an animal’s life.

2. Adoption helps more than just one animal. When you provide a shelter pet with a home, you’ll be making room for other animals. The Humane Society says most pets end up in shelters “because of a human problem like a move or a divorce, not because they did anything wrong." And when someone asks you where you got your pet, tell them "at the shelter." That may encourage others to do the same.

3. You’ll help fight puppy mills. If you buy a dog at a pet store, flea market or online seller, chances are you’re unwittingly supporting puppy mills, factory-style breeding facilities where dogs often live in squalid conditions, don’t get adequate medical care, and can have health and behavior problems as a result.

4. You’ll help break the cycle of companion-animal overpopulation. Shelters are nonprofit groups that help improve community life and reduce pet overpopulation by requiring all animals be spayed or neutered. That reduces the chances that more unwanted animals will be born.

5. Research shows animals are psychologically, emotionally and physically beneficial to their companions. Caring for an animal provides a sense of purpose and can lessen feelings of loneliness.