Mercer County Animal Shelter has Hello Summer Sale for pet adoptions

Jun. 2—By GREG JORDAN

PRINCETON — Homeless dogs and cats waiting for a family or a special someone are getting a chance to play at the beach while people can pay less to adopt a new pet.

There will be discounts this June on both dog and cat adoption fees at the Mercer County Animal Shelter. The dog adoption fee is normally $140 and the cat fee is $85, but these will be considerably reduced during the June adoption event.

"They're calling it the Hello Summer Sale, and it will run June 1 through the 17th," Director Stacey Harman said. "And, of course, the animals will be discounted. Dogs will be $50, cats will be $25. I mean, they're getting a good deal. Everything is included; all of the vetting."

There are plenty of dogs and cats needing a home.

"Right now I'm completely full," Harman said. "I would say close to 80, 85 (dogs). We really need to try and move some. Cats, I would say probably close to 30. We've had a bunch of kittens come in."

And with so many dogs to feed, there has been a strain on food supplies.

"I put a plea out, but we're so full, we go through a lot of food," Harman added. "We really could use some dry dog food donations."

Dogs at the Mercer County Animal Shelter normally spend a good part of their time in kennels, but now they're getting the opportunity to dress up for the beach and let their personalities shine.

"Well, we decided to do this because, of course, we're full to the brim with dogs," Harman said. "So we decided to get them out of their kennels and just dress them up to show their true personalities."

When dogs are behind a kennel gate, they tend to present themselves differently to visitors. To make a good first impression, the shelter's personnel came up with the beach scene and gave them sunglasses and other oceanfront attire so they can showcase themselves. There will be photo opportunities Tuesday through Friday, plus face panting, Popsicles and popcorn on Saturdays.

"I think we're having the beach scene where people can take pictures," Harman said. "And we have one outside for the dogs if they want to bring their dogs and get a picture."

The shelter's dogs will also have opportunities to get out and enjoy the beach atmosphere.

"We also have splash pads and get the dogs out and let them play in the water," she said.

The Mercer County Animal Shelter is located at 961 Shelter Road near Princeton.

The shelter is open Tuesday through Saturday for adoptions from noon to 6 p.m., and closed Monday and Sunday.

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com