Orange animal shelter reduces adoption fees as it nears capacity
Orange County Animal Services is running out of room and is reducing adoption fees to $10 in an effort to make space starting Tuesday.
“I hope this fee reduction and this effort serves as a signal to Central Florida residents that we need help. We need adopters to come forward,” said OCAS manager Diane Summers. “We have several dogs that have been with us for 100 days or longer. They’ve been overlooked for months and it’s time their luck turned for the better.”
The animal shelter has a total of 274 animals nearing its 300 pet capacity, said OCAS spokesperson Bryan Almeida.
OCAS received a huge influx of dogs, totaling 185, and leaving only one kennel vacant in the primary dog housing building. Many of the kennels are doubled up to maximum space. As for cats, the facility has 89.
Dog intakes are up, which is common in the summertime, but there’s also been a number of dog cases surrendered to the county because of cruelty or substandard living conditions. OCAS is housing 42 pets from such various cases.
The shelter’s $10 adoption fee is only available through Thursday — pet’s spay/neuter, initial vaccines and microchip identification are included.
The longest shelter resident is 9-year-old Cano who has been there for 152 days.
