The Humane Society of Sedona is participating in Bissell Pet Foundation’s seasonal Empty the Shelters Holiday Hope event for the third year in a row.
From Dec. 6 through 20, the Humane Society will be hosting reduced-fee adoptions and a toy drive for the shelter animals. Adoptions will be available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.
The Empty the Shelters program lowers adoption fees to $25 for pets from 6 months to 7 years old. While puppies and kittens under 6 months are not included, senior animals above the age of seven have their adoption fee completely waived. Adoption fees will also be waived for veterans and active-duty military. This is all made possible by Bissell Pet Foundation’s sponsorship offsetting the adoption costs.
Felicity Filep, director of development at the Humane Society of Sedona, said that this event allows people to afford a pet adoption. And although the shelter does not encourage giving pets as holiday gifts, the recent overcrowding of shelters has resulted in more adoption events like this one.
“The one concerning trend recently is the number of local animals being surrendered to the shelter has increased this past year due to housing, employment and medical challenges faced by those living in the Verde Valley,” said Filep. “We do our utmost to help find the animal a new home before they even get to HSS using our communications network, rehoming resources as well as our network of foster families.”
The shelter is able to keep supporting this increasing number of animals through its holiday toy drive. During this holiday event, the Humane Society will also be accepting new toys, bedding and dog/cat food at the shelter and their local thrift stores. And according to the shelter, this holiday drive restocks food to last for the whole year. Wish lists for the animals can be found on Amazon and Chewy, which delivers right to the shelter.
“A small portion of the items donated throughout the year support our partnership with the Sedona Food Bank so local animal owners in need of help when times are tough can come to the shelter and ensure their furry family member is taken care of at no cost to them,” Filep said.
In order to set up adoption, the adopter must call the shelter and set up an appointment. The shelter’s animal care team will review all animals’ background histories with potential adopters during their visit with the animal. All adoptable animals will be spayed or neutered, microchipped and vaccinated. And all animals come with a free local vet visit, collar and ID tag.
The Chino Valley Animal Shelter will also be participating in the reduced-fee adoptions. All available animals will be listed on the Humane Society of Sedona’s website, humansocietyofsedona.org.
