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Animal Welfare League of Arlington wants to 'Empty the Shelters'

The shelter will reduce adoption fees to $25 for all cats and dogs during the annual pet awareness week May 2 through 8.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The best animal shelter is an empty animal shelter. Empty, because every animal has found a loving home. That's the thought behind a pet adoption event coming to Arlington County, called Empty the Shelters.

The Animal Welfare League of Arlington will join more than 275 shelters across the country in this annual event. It runs May 2 through 8. During the entire week, the fee to adopt any cat or dog will be only $25, much lower than fees that often range from $100 to $275. You can review a gallery of animals up for adoption at www.awla.org/adopt/all-pets.

The event is sponsored by the BISSELL Pet Foundation. According to the foundation, Empty the Shelters has helped more than 83,000 pets find homes across the country and in Canada since its start in 2016.

"Shelters across the country are over capacity. And highly adoptable pets are at risk as we face one of the largest crises in recent years," said Cathy Bissell, founder of the Bissell Pet Foundation. She said the foundation is calling on people to visit their community shelters during Empty the Shelters week to save a life through adoption. "Without you, there is no tomorrow for these deserving pets," Bissell said.

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The foundation said families that are not able to adopt a pet should consider fostering an animal.

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The Animal Welfare League of Arlington said standard adoption policies and procedures will apply during Empty the Shelters. Those procedures include a visit to the shelter and completing an application. Adoptions take place on a first-come, first-matched basis.

You can find more adoption information at www.awla.org.

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