Orange County Animal Services drop adoption fees to fight overcrowding
ORLANDO, Fla. - William LeBron's family adopted two cats from Orange County Animal Services. The shelter hopes more people do the same after they put out an overcrowding alert.
"Cats, dogs, any of these animals in the cages they just need a family to play with them," said Bryant Almeida of Orange County Animal Services. "We still are slightly under 300 animals under our care. About 200 dogs and just under 100 cats."
He says the cages that typically hold two animals are now keeping three or more as they see a spike in owners giving up their pets for all kinds of reasons.
"Allergies, from moving, divorces," he said.
Because space is limited, the shelter is now offering free adoptions.
"We’ve dropped the fees for ready-to-go animals which are animals that have already been spade and neutered, microchip, vaccinated," said Almeida.
Animal Services is also offering a Sleepover Program which lets people take an animal home for a trial period of up to two weeks. It gives the shelter time to free up space and allows families to see if the pet is the right fit.
"It’s great. A lot of people can come over. I actually hope that a lot more people know about it," said LeBron.
For more information, visit the Orange County Animal Services website.