A $150 cat. A $200 dog. Both free, during two specific windows this fall.
The Haven is participating in the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ Rescue Effect campaign, joining hundreds of shelters and rescue organizations nationwide working to increase adoptions.
A $10,000 grant from the ASPCA is covering the difference.
The Promotional Windows
The Haven will waive adoption fees for eligible cats and dogs ages 6 months and older during two periods:
- Sept. 5 – 19
- Oct. 3 – 17
During each window, the regular $150 adoption fee for adult cats and the $200 fee for adult dogs is waived.
The Goal: 51 Animals
The Haven’s target is to place 51 adult cats and dogs in homes during the campaign.
The focus on animals 6 months and older is deliberate. Kittens and puppies move quickly out of almost every shelter in the country. Adult animals wait, sometimes for months, and every week an adult animal spends in a shelter occupies a kennel that cannot be used for the next intake.
Fee-waived promotions target exactly that population.
The Screening Process Does Not Change
The Haven’s standard adoption application and approval process remains in place to help ensure each animal is matched with the right family.
That point is worth emphasizing, because it is the most common concern raised about fee-waived adoption events. Waiving the fee removes a financial barrier; it does not remove the vetting. Applicants go through the same process they would on any other day.
Research on fee-waived adoptions has generally found that outcomes for animals adopted without a fee are comparable to those adopted with one — the fee functions as a barrier more often than as a filter.
What the Grant Actually Covers
The $10,000 ASPCA grant substitutes for the revenue The Haven would otherwise collect.
Adoption fees do not cover the full cost of caring for a shelter animal — vaccinations, spay or neuter surgery, microchipping, food and housing generally exceed what the adopter pays. But the fees are real revenue for organizations operating on narrow margins, and waiving them without replacement funding is not sustainable.
The National Campaign
The Rescue Effect is the ASPCA’s national campaign dedicated to helping animal welfare organizations increase adoptions and engage their communities.
This year the ASPCA is again providing $2 million in grants to cover adoption fees and support operations at participating shelters and rescue groups across the country, including organizations holding fee-waived adoption events.
If You’re Considering It
The second window runs Oct. 3 through Oct. 17. Anyone thinking about adopting an adult cat or dog should be prepared to complete The Haven’s standard application — and should understand that the ongoing cost of a pet begins after the adoption, fee or no fee.