Animal rescue groups throughout Northwest Arkansas are working to increase pet adoptions by reducing fees and raising awareness of rescue efforts.

Seven rescue groups in Northwest Arkansas partner with Clear The Shelters, a national initiative to encourage pet adoption and donations to local rescue services.

These rescue services include municipal animal shelters and foster care organizations.

NBCUniversal Local, a global media company, launched Clear The Shelters in 2014. This year’s event begins Saturday, August 10 and runs through September 10, the company’s website says.

To celebrate the tenth anniversary, there will be an extended donation period until September 30, the website says.

In 2023, over 150,000 pets found homes through the Clear The Shelters initiative and $575,000 was raised for animal shelters nationwide. Over 1 million animals have been adopted nationwide since the initiative began.

Fayetteville Animal Services is supporting the cause by waiving adoption fees from August 10-31.

Justine Lentz, director of the shelter, said the shelter participates in Clear The Shelters every year. There are usually fewer adoptions in the summer, so the event shows people that shelters are full of animals who deserve loving homes.

“I think most of all we’re seeing longer lengths of stay, especially for dogs,” Lentz said. “It’s hard on the dogs because no matter how many things we do for them, this is not a home.”

Lately, it’s been difficult to find homes for dogs, she said, especially larger breeds. She said her charge, who has been there the longest — over 100 days — weighs about 80 pounds.

“Anything over 40 pounds, definitely 60 pounds and over, is really difficult. Even if they’re really well-behaved, nice, wonderful dogs, it’s hard to find homes for them just because they’re bigger,” Lentz said.

She pointed out that many rental properties have restrictions on the size and weight of pets.

Longer stays for dogs mean there is less room for other animals in the shelter, which increases the burden, Lentz said.

In 2023, 887 dogs were taken in, 510 were adopted and 350 were returned to their owners. In 2022, 838 dogs were taken in, 536 were adopted and 303 were returned to their owners.

So far this year, 248 dogs have been adopted.

CARE FOREVER

Participants include not only municipal animal shelters, but also regional foster-based rescue services.

Robyn Gilbert runs Whiskers Rescue in Fayetteville and Mountain Home, which was founded in 2020. The rescue is primarily foster-based, she said, meaning volunteers house the animals until they are adopted.

She said adoptions have been slow over the past month and there has been a big increase in owners giving up their pets because they can’t afford them. She said she understands how difficult that can be and tries to help families when she can, especially by providing low-cost or free spay and neuter services.

“It is imperative that we teach people to neuter animals on a mass scale,” she said. “We cannot continue to populate the world with unwanted animals.”

Whiskers rescues almost exclusively cats, she said, and places animals at PETCO in Rogers and Fayetteville and at Pet Supply Plus in Rogers.

She said she will host a “Clear The Shelters” event at both PETCO locations on Aug. 24, where she will bring cats and kittens for potential adopters to meet.

The rescue organization can’t waive the fees, she said, because it already has a tight budget, but she still hopes people will consider adopting cats from her.

She said foster-based shelters often have a limited number of animals they can take in because they rely on volunteers. She hopes the Aug. 24 event inspires more people to donate to shelters or even foster animals themselves.

SMALL TOWN ACCOMMODATIONS

Paws and Claws Pet Shelter in Huntsville is cutting its adoption fees in half during the event, said Mallory Harlan, the shelter’s director.

The shelter has areas for dogs, puppies, cats and kittens and works with local residents to take in animals as well. The foster model allows animals that might struggle or need extra socialization in a shelter to receive it, Harlan said.

This is the second year they’ve participated in Clear The Shelters. Harlan said she has about 80 animals ready for adoption and wants to make sure there’s room for new animals.

“I think sometimes people forget that they can come to a shelter and look at the pets,” Harlan said. “I think there’s also a misconception that it’s really difficult to get a dog or a cat from a shelter. I think most of our shelters in our area are pretty open and easy to work with.”

She said Paws and Claws does interview-based adoptions, meaning she or another staff member asks the adoptive family a few questions about their lifestyle, pets or children in the home, and checks to see if the desired animal is compatible.

Some animals may need to be the only pet or may have an aversion to children, so it is helpful to know the background of the potential adopter, she said.

“Perhaps not every animal is suitable for every home,” says Harlan. “But we hope that through discussion we can find a pet that fits every home.”