WASHINGTON — The Humane Rescue Alliance (HRA) says the D.C. community opened their hearts and homes to new furry friends, helping them clear the shelters.
The rescue says it successfully placed 48 dogs from its shelters into new homes within 48 hours, due to overcrowding at the shelters.
On average, the HRA takes in 78 dogs every week, whether as strays or from owners who can no longer care for them, but only 25 of those are being adopted out of the shelter per week. Currently, the rescue is taking care of more than 145 adoptable dogs.
HRA said reaching their goal of finding homes for 48 of their dogs creates much needed room in the shelter so they can continue to respond to the increase in animal intakes, which are up 40% since last year.
To make the experience even more paws-itive, they waived adoption fees, which are typically $150-$250.
While the weekend event has come to a close, there are still plenty of dogs at the shelter in need of loving homes.
"We are so grateful to our community for rising to the challenge, as always. But while we celebrate hitting our goal, we took in 29 new dogs this weekend and still have 126 dogs looking for a home – so we continue to look to our community for support by adopting or fostering a dog," the animal shelter said in a press statement.
To adopt, people can walk-in to either of the HRA shelter locations, reach out online or attend one of the adoption events.