BENTONVILLE, Ark. — April 30 is National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day, and Best Friends Animal Society is asking people to help get pets out of shelters and into homes.
From now until the end of June, Best Friends shelters across the country, including the Pet Resource Center in Bentonville, are waiving adoption fees to encourage people to adopt.
According to the organization, pet adoption has been on the decline for the past five years, and shelters are packed with animals who need homes.
Linda DeBerry, the marketing and communication specialist for Best Friends in Northwest Arkansas, said the best way to help with that need is to consider adopting a pet.
“A lot of folks have the kind of wrong idea about shelter pets—that they're somehow damaged or something's wrong with them— and they'll go buy a pet rather than adopt one from the shelter,” DeBerry said.
“You just can't find a better pet than some of these shelter animals that really need homes, and you can so easily provide that for them.”
The push comes right after Best Friends in Northwest Arkansas took in dozens of dogs from an overcrowded shelter in Jacksonville, Arkansas, to save them from being put down.
DeBerry said while Best Friends wants to save every animal, animal shelters cannot do it alone.
Choosing to adopt an animal, she said, saves more than one life.
“When you adopt a pet from a shelter, you're not only saving the life of that animal, you're also potentially saving the life of another animal who's out there in the world somewhere in danger who can be taken in and take that animals place,” DeBerry said. “The shelter can provide help for animals that are in a bad situation or they’re stray, but only if there's space for them.”
To celebrate National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day, the Pet Resource Center in Bentonville, Blue Buffalo, and Best Friends are partnering up for a pet adoption party.
Happening from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on April 30, the adoption event will include a cocktail hour, a live DJ, swag bags, and the chance to play with and adopt shelter pets for free.
In addition to visiting the Pet Resource Center, Arkansans can participate in Best Friends’ national Bring Love Home ad campaign by submitting photos and videos of their pets at home. The goal of the campaign is to encourage people to adopt shelter pets.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.