More than 680 no-kill animal shelters across the nation, including 19 in Utah, have committed to National Adoption Weekend, where Friday through Sunday, animals can be adopted from Best Friends Animal Society shelters with waived fees.
National Adoption Weekend comes in the midst of a shelter crisis where shelters like Weber County Animal ServicesNick Lippincott, the senior manager of lifesaving programs at Best Friends Animal Society in Salt Lake City, said Weber County was at 175% capacity. Ever since they put out a call for help, they've managed to go down to about 125% capacity — better, but still not enough.
Lippincott said there is no identifiable reason for the uptick in shelter populations, but the important thing is helping these animals find a home.If you are not in a place to adopt an animal, Lippincott said there are other ways to help: fostering animals to prepare them to be adopted, volunteering at the shelter or donating money.
Shelters are often understaffed, and a volunteer helping out makes all the difference. "A minute or two saved for them can mean all the difference in the world, because it may allow them to do that one email reply that connects them with a resource to get another animal out or make another adoption to happen," Lippincott said.
One of the goals of Best Friends Animal Society is to make all shelters no-kill shelters by 2025. As of 2022, 57% of shelters across the country are no-kill, which is an increase from 2016's 22%. Part of being a no-kill shelter means trying to keep the shelter under capacity, which is where adoption comes in.