Reduced adoption fees to help shelter pets find homes this holiday season

Evan Sasiela, Livingston Daily
·2 min read
Bissell Pet Foundation is hosting its “Empty the Shelters — Holiday Hope” event from Dec. 1-17. There are more than 380 shelters in 43 states offering reduced-fee pet adoptions. In Michigan, 41 shelters are participating in the event.
Bissell Pet Foundation is hosting its “Empty the Shelters — Holiday Hope” event from Dec. 1-17. There are more than 380 shelters in 43 states offering reduced-fee pet adoptions. In Michigan, 41 shelters are participating in the event.

MICHIGAN — A nationwide effort is hoping to help shelter pets find loving homes this holiday season.

Bissell Pet Foundation is hosting its “Empty the Shelters — Holiday Hope” event from Dec. 1-17. There are more than 380 shelters in 43 states offering reduced-fee pet adoptions. In Michigan, 41 shelters are participating in the event.

During each Empty the Shelters event, Bissell sponsors reduced adoption fees so shelters can charge $50 or less for pets —according to a news release. Pets are fully vaccinated, microchipped and spayed or neutered.

Bissell Pet Foundation is hosting its “Empty the Shelters — Holiday Hope” event from Dec. 1-17. There are more than 380 shelters in 43 states offering reduced-fee pet adoptions. In Michigan, 41 shelters are participating in the event.
Bissell Pet Foundation is hosting its “Empty the Shelters — Holiday Hope” event from Dec. 1-17. There are more than 380 shelters in 43 states offering reduced-fee pet adoptions. In Michigan, 41 shelters are participating in the event.

Founded in 2011, Bissell is a national animal welfare organization dedicated to ending pet homelessness.

"Our nation's animal shelters need your help as they face an overcrowding crisis unlike anything we have experienced in more than a decade,” said Cathy Bissell, founder of Bissell Pet Foundation. “The devastating increase in owner surrenders and stray intakes has left tens of thousands of deserving pets desperate to find a home.

"Our 'Empty the Shelters – Holiday Hope' event is the perfect opportunity to make a difference in your community by saving a life and creating space to give another homeless pet a chance this holiday season."

An interactive map of participating shelters is available on the Bissell Pet Foundation website: bissellpetfoundation.org.

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Some of the participating shelters in Michigan include, but are not limited to:

  • The Muskegon Humane Society

  • The Clare County Animal Shelter

  • The Delta Animal Shelter in Escanaba

  • The Greater Hillsdale Humane Society

  • Heaven Can Wait Animal Haven in Norton Shores

  • The Humane Society of Midland County

  • The Humane Society of West Michigan in Walker

  • The Ionia County Animal Shelter

  • The Kent County Animal Shelter

  • The Little Traverse Bay Humane Society

  • Macomb County Animal Control

  • St. Clair County Animal Control

  • Faithful to Felines in Muskegon

  • Wishbone Pet Rescue Alliance in Allegan County

More than 204,000 pets have been adopted through Empty the Shelters events, according to Bissell — making it the largest funded adoption event in the U.S. An average of 1,225 pets are adopted each day of these quarterly national events.

— Contact reporter Evan Sasiela at esasiela@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on Twitter @SalsaEvan.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: 'Empty the Shelters' to help pets find new homes this holiday season