RivCo extends fee waivers at animal shelters to encourage adoptions
Jesus Reyes
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – The current waiver on most pet adoption fees at Riverside County animal shelters will continue until Halloween to encourage residents to take home lost or abandoned pets, it was announced today.
“We can all play a part in helping county pets find their way out of the shelter and into loving homes,” County Board of Supervisors Chairman Manuel Perez said.
The fee waivers, which were inaugurated at the start of the month as part of the BISSELL Pet Foundation’s “Empty the Shelters” adoption bonanza, entail waiving costs for vaccination, microchipping, spay/neuter and impoundment, or in the case of residents who have lost their pets but show up to reclaim them, no reclamation fees.
Prospective adopters will only be asked to pay canine licensing fees, which for altered dogs is generally $25 or less. The fees are required and based on where an adopter resides.
The latest adoption campaign coincided with the Department of Animal Services’ change in shelters’ hours of operation.
The county’s Coachella Valley Animal Campus in Thousand Palms, San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus and Western Riverside County Animal Shelter in Jurupa Valley are now open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Friday. The shelters’ previous weekday hours of operation were 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The shelters are always closed on Mondays, but on Saturdays and Sundays, the facilities operate from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Blythe Animal Shelter, which is closed on weekends, has the least capacity and has not been included in the revised scheduling. That shelter continues to be open Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
As of Wednesday, roughly 1,000 canines and felines were available for adoption at county shelters. Not all of the impounded pets, however, are housed on-site. Some, especially kittens and younger cats, have been placed with “pet fosters” who have agreed to keep them temporarily. The county is always seeking additional fosters to free up space under tight capacity constraints.
More information is available at rcdas.org/.