"Empty the Shelters" Reduced-Fee Adoption Event, through October 15

Through Sunday, October 15

Humane Society of Scott County 2802 West Central Park Avenue, Davenport IA

With our nation’s animal shelters currently in crisis due to increased owner surrenders and stray intakes, spiking post-pandemic euthanasia rates across the country, Davenport's Humane Society Of Scott County will join more than 345 organizations from 42 states in taking part in the BISSELL Pet Foundation's "Empty the Shelters" Reduced-Fee Adoption Event, a nationwide program taking place through 15.

According to the Shelter Animals Count database, animal intakes at both public and private shelters are expected to reach a three-year high this year, and adoptions or returns to owners are not keeping pace. With lives on the line, BISSELL Pet Foundation is once again hoping to bring animals from shelter kennels to the couches of loving homes by prompting a national call for adoption, this autumn's “Empty the Shelters” Reduced-Fee Adoption Event enabling adopters to help save a life and bring home spayed/neutered, vaccinated pets for just $50 or less.

Since its inception in 2016, the "Empty the Shelters" program has helped nearly 190,000 pets find loving homes throughout the United States and Canada, making "Empty the Shelters" the largest funded adoption event in the country. An average of 1,225 pets are adopted each day of these quarterly national events. During each nationwide event, BISSELL Pet Foundation sponsors reduced adoption fees so shelters can charge between zero and $50 to take deserving pets from kennels to the couches of loving homes. This fall, "Empty the Shelters" will be hosted at more than 345 organizations in 42 states, including Davenport's Humane Society of Scott County animal shelter, where both dogs and cats are available during the October event.

"Our nation’s animal shelters are facing an overcrowding crisis unlike anything we have experienced in more than a decade," said Cathy Bissell, who founded the BISSELL Pet Foundation in 2011. "The devastating increase in owner surrenders and stray intakes has left tens of thousands of socialized, house-trained, and leash-trained pets desperate to find a home, Our Fall National ‘Empty the Shelters' will support the adoption of thousands of pets across the country, helping shelters in this critical time. Opening your home to a shelter pet saves a life and creates space to give another pet a chance."

In addition to the Humane Society Of Scott County, three additional Iowa sites will be participating in the "Empty the Shelters" Reduced-Fee Adoption Event through October 15: the Boone Area Humane Society animal shelter (226 West 16th Street, Boone); the Cedar Valley Humane Society animal shelter (7411 Mt. Vernon Road, Cedar Rapids); and the Des Moines County Humane Society animal protection organization (2000 North Roosevelt Avenue, Bellevue). For more information and a full map of participating organizations, visit BISSELLPetFoundation.org/Empty-The-Shelters.