'Home For The Holidays': Free Dog Adoptions At Salem, MSPCA Shelters

SALEM, MA — Anyone looking to celebrate the spirit of the season with a new four-legged friend can do so for free this upcoming week as part of the MSPCA-Angell and Northeast Animal Shelter of Salem's "Home for the Holidays" adoption push.

Starting Monday, all dogs aged 1 year or older will have the adoption fee waived at the Salem shelter and MSPCA-Angell shelters in Boston, Methuen and Centerville on Cape Cod.

The event comes amid an ongoing dog population crisis that is putting thousands of dogs across the country at risk of euthanasia for nothing more than lack of a home.

"Shelters across the country are seeing a slowdown in dog adoptions and it's been going on for close to a year," MSPCA-Angell Director of Adoption Centers and Programs Mike Keiley said. "We've been doing all we can to help, both by transporting hundreds of dogs here to Massachusetts where there are more adopters, and by working with partner shelters to execute similar fee-waived events to help attract more adopters to their shelters as well.

"It's critical that we're able to continue helping those shelters that are over capacity, but, in order to do that, we need to find homes for the dogs in our care."

The Northeast Animal Shelter has previously waived fees for larger dogs — which account for the majority up for adoption — over a weekend but next week will waive the fee for all dogs over a year old. Adoption fees typically range from $350 to $500.

"Eliminating barriers to adoption is a really important part of helping ease this crisis," said Keiley, adding that the extended hours are meant to make meeting a potential new best friend more convenient for adopters. "Given the economy, it's likely that fees are preventing some people from adopting, so we're excited to have the opportunity to waive those for an entire week."

The adoptathon is sponsored by Bissell Pet Foundation.

Interested adopters are encouraged to visit the shelters during open hours, which vary by location:

· Boston Adoption Center: Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 3 p.m.

· Nevins Farm Adoption Center: Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 3 p.m.

· Cape Cod Adoption Center: Tuesday through Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

· Northeast Animal Shelter: Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)