It's a good day to adopt a dog.
So say officials with San Francisco Animal Care and Control and the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, both of which have waived adoption fees temporarily to encourage more adoptions.
Pandemic-related delays in spay and neuter surgeries have filled shelters in the city -- as well as elsewhere in the Bay Area and across the nation -- with homeless dogs, local officials said.
Compounding the issue is a decline in people adopting dogs, especially larger breeds, as life slowly returns to normal, officials said.
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"When you adopt, you're not just saving one animal's life; you're also opening space in our shelter so we can save another animal," said Dr. Jennifer Scarlett, leader of the San Francisco SPCA. "If you've been thinking about adopting, now is a great time. Our shelter is full, and we have a huge variety of dogs, especially bigger dogs."
Scarlett and Virginia Donohue, animal care's executive director, are hoping that waiving adoption fees will lead to many of dogs finding new homes.
"The number of dogs in our care, especially large ones, has significantly impacted our operations," Donohue said.
Local
The SPCA is waiving adoption fees for all adult dogs age 5 months and up as part of its Summer of Lovin' adoption promotion.
Animal care is waiving adoption fees for all dogs through June 30.
View adoptable dogs at the SF SPCA at sfspca.org/adoptions/dogs and at animal care at sfanimalcare.org/adoptable-animals/dogs/.
