Orange County Animal Services (OCAS) is running a “name your price” adoption special through the end of the month to hopefully give more than 80 animals forever homes.
Tenille Fox, the communication specialist, said the promotion allows people who are considering adopting a pet an option to pay whatever price they can.
“A lot of people really do want to help the community by helping the shelter and so a lot of people do pay full price or at least make a donation,” Fox said.
Adoption fees – which cover health screenings, spay and neuter, and microchips – typically range from $110 to $175 for dogs and cats.
But, the shelter also has many other animals like rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens and sometimes even farm animals like goats and pigs.
Fox said the “name your price” special is not just a nice incentive for people who are thinking of adopting a pet to bring one home. It also helps OCAS keep shelter numbers lower – especially through COVID-19 when there’s fewer workers in the building.
To allow people to get a first impression of a potential new best friend, Fox said the shelter moved to virtual meet-and-greet visits through FaceTime and Zoom.
“It’s a really great way to see a pets behavior in real time,” Fox said. “The virtual meet-and-greets also have a staff member there to answer any questions that they can and these are usually people taking care of the animal daily so sometimes they have some really good insights on how pets do in certain situations.”
Fox said the shelter is worried of potential returns of animals after people go back to normal work schedules. She encourages everyone to treat their new pets as permanent members of the family.
“If you think that you’re ready for basically a new family member this is a great time for that,” Fox said. “We just want you to be prepared and have a great time and hopefully find the new love of your life at our shelter. We see it happen all the time that’s one of the best parts of our job.”
Orange County Animal Services holds other adoption promotions throughout the year to give furry friends forever homes. To learn more about the animals available, click here.
Photo via OCAS
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