San Diego Humane Society to offer free adoptions Saturday amid overfilled shelters

All adoption fees this Saturday at San Diego Humane Society shelters will be waived as the organization deals with an ongoing surplus of animals in its care.

The organization announced that they would be once again participating in Clear the Shelters 2025, a fee-free adoption day — and 50% off adoptions for the entire month of August — due to their shelters being at 156% canine capacity and 96% feline capacity across all campuses.

“This summer is better than last summer, but this is always our big time of the year,” said Gary Weitzman, president and CEO of San Diego Humane Society. “I was just meeting with our staff at different campuses, and we think we’re the only people in the world that can’t wait for summer to be over.”

According to Weitzman, the Humane Society participates in the annual event — with shelters around the country also participating — due to the high amount of animals that come into the shelters during the summer.

According to the organization’s data, Clear the Shelters Month in 2024 brought 2,394 adoptions. After 1,145 adoptions already this month, there are currently 854 adoptable animals — 369 dogs, 19 puppies, 165 cats, 106 kittens, 89 guinea pigs and 54 reptiles — in the organization’s care.

Weitzman said a large number of animals arrive at shelters on or around the Fourth of July, due to fireworks scaring animals or people’s homes and side gates not being as secure due to people walking in and out of the homes.

Usually, about 30% of the animals that come in after Independence Day every year are returned to their owners, Weitzman said. However, this year only about 17% of animals went home in the days after the holiday.

And while officials have the numbers to show their available space is being heavily impacted, they are still searching for a reason to explain the yearly phenomenon.

“We have data, but the casualty is not completely clear yet,” Weitzman said.

Weitzman believes one reason could be due to the fact that the Humane Society, along with other industry leaders, has seen a decrease in the amount of spaying and neutering for animals during COVID-19, which led to a number of unwanted kitten and puppy births.

The National Library of Medicine published a report earlier this year that showed there was a 13% decrease in these spay and neuter surgeries around the country in 2020.

Another factor is the strong tie to economic downturns.

“We’re getting a lot of relinquishments … because we have people moving out of state because of the high cost of living, especially in San Diego, or the cost of veterinary care is incredibly high and can become inaccessible to people,” Weitzman said. “All these things, plus the cost of food, just make a big difference.”

Weitzman said the free adoptions for Clear the Shelters Day on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., as well as the reason for adoption fees being halved for the rest of the month, is to help alleviate some of this financial burden.

“If you are thinking about adding a pet to your family, we’d love for you to come and meet the incredible animals in our care,” Weitzman said. “There’s nothing more rewarding than giving an animal a second chance — and gaining a loyal companion who will love you unconditionally.”

For more information about animal adoption or the location of San Diego Humane Society shelters, visit sdhumane.org.