These Local Animal Shelters Are Waiving Adoption Fees This Month

Butterscotch Animal Welfare League of Arlington/ hide caption
If you're considering adopting an animal, this could be your moment.
Two D.C.-area animal adoption agencies are waiving fees for parts of this month, hoping to clear some space as they deal with a glut of foster animals.
"We just have an abundance of cats right now that are looking for a good home," says Chelsea Jones, senior communications specialist for the Animal Welfare League in Arlington. "So we're continuing the promotion for the whole month."
The league will charge no adoption fees through the end of August on any adult felines six months and older.
Jones says the shelter is seeing the opposite of what happened last year during the pandemic when everyone wanted to adopt an animal. She says people are more interested in traveling and going out now that restrictions have been lifted, and anyone who wanted a cat already got one.
To top it all off, this comes during peak kitten season (i.e. breeding time), when the shelter receives a majority of its baby cats. Jones estimates the shelter has a surplus of approximately 30 adult cats and more than 70 kittens at the moment.
"We are bursting at the seams a little bit," she says. "But we need help to find a new home for all these awesome cats."
Thanks to a donation from former Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer and his wife Erica, the Humane Rescue Alliance is also currently waiving adoption fees on any animal through August 10. (The organization also collaborated with Scherzer on a Humane Rescue Alliance baseball tee.)
All-Star pitcher Max Scherzer and HRA board member @emaysway are generously funding the adoption fees for every animal adopted from HRA today through Tuesday, Aug. 10.
— Humane Rescue (@HumaneRescue) August 4, 2021
On behalf of the staff, volunteers and animals of HRA and our entire community – thank you, Erica and Max! pic.twitter.com/gsGpxIQ6Dt
This isn't the first time the Scherzers have acted as pet philanthropists. They've covered adoption fees at the alliance on multiple occasions over the years for a limited time. Both organizations have also previously waived adoption fees to encourage people to adopt a new companion into their forever home (the alliance held a promotion earlier this year on dogs over 40 lbs).
The Humane Rescue Alliance is a chain of five animal welfare campuses in D.C. and New Jersey and works with more than 100,000 animals annually, according to its site. It houses animals at its many locations and also works with foster parents who take care of the animals while they wait to get adopted. The Animal Welfare League in Arlington similarly houses about 25% of its fostered animals in-house, with the remaining 75% taken care of by foster parents.
Here are some standout cuties up for adoption. In this corner representing the Humane Rescue Alliance:
With those beautiful eyes, Storm looks right into your soul to say, "hey, please adopt me!"
— Humane Rescue (@HumaneRescue) August 5, 2021
Learn more about Storm at https://t.co/sI3Ye7pdqE. As an added bonus, Nike's adoption fee is waived thanks to the Scherzers! pic.twitter.com/dGFoDAI8qQ
.@emaysway and Max Scherzer have been such amazing supporters of HRA. Just one way they've helped encourage adoption is generously sponsoring the adoption fees for all of HRA’s adoptable dogs who have heterochromia, or two different colored eyes, just like Max. pic.twitter.com/J4IPicc785
— Humane Rescue (@HumaneRescue) August 5, 2021
Meet Rufus! He's very calm and enjoys short walks and all the belly rubs he can get. He is a BIG boy at 106 pounds, but is doing very well in his foster's apartment.
— Humane Rescue (@HumaneRescue) August 2, 2021
Learn more and set up a virtual meet and greet at https://t.co/sI3Ye7pdqE. pic.twitter.com/Dl7ac8DGy6
And in the other corner representing the Animal Welfare League:

Layla Animal Welfare League of Arlington/ hide caption

Hollyleaf Animal Welfare League of Arlington/ hide caption

Cisco Animal Welfare League of Arlington/ hide caption
This story is from DCist.com, the local news website of WAMU.
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