CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The month-long WCNC Charlotte Clear The Shelters event ended this weekend with a fantastic adoption day on Saturday!
Making a difference in the Charlotte area, TEGNA Foundation and WCNC Charlotte donated a total of $11,000 to Clear The Shelters. Each shelter and rescue will receive $1,000.
There are a variety of shelters in our area that participated. The goal was to make a difference in the animal community to help them adopt out all of their animals and raise money to support their shelter.
Thousands of animals were adopted on Saturday, including 45 at CMPD Animal Care and Control.
One of those was a dog Maple. For her new owner, 7-year-old Morgan Burnes, it only took one look to know Maple was the one.
"I do like a dog that has, like, cute puppy eyes," Morgan said. "I will protect the dog with my whole life and I just love her and she is bundle of joy!"
Her mom knew it was time to add a dog to the family and with kennels full across the Charlotte area, it was important for them to participate in Clear the Shelters.
"She looked like she wanted a forever home and I'm just glad that I'm able to give it to her, we're just so happy to help," Chante Rainey said.
NBC and Telemundo stations across the nation partnered with hundreds of shelters and rescues to present Clear the Shelters, a month-long pet adoption and donation campaign.
"Just getting dogs out of there, it's good for everybody," David Krebs told WCNC Charlotte after adopting a new dog.
"I just knew her true colors would pop out as soon as you got her out of the loud noises and stuff like that and she's already warmed up so much," Melissa Walker said. "So it was an easy choice once I got to meet her."
"She's like the greatest dog I ever had," Morgan said.
Here's a look at which shelters joined in on Clear The Shelters Day, which you can still adopt from any time:
Show us your pets!
York County Humane Society
- 8177 Regent Pkwy, Fort Mill, SC 29715
- View adoptable pets
CMPD Animal Care & Control
- Saturday 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
- 8315 Byrum Dr, Charlotte, NC 28217
- Here's how you can still help:
- Take a dog on a Staycation for a long weekend: A Staycation is available to people who cannot commit to adopting a pet but want to help by taking a dog home for up to five days to give it a break from the shelter environment and provide it the benefits and experience of living in a loving home. Visit the CMPD Animal Care and Control shelter on Byrum Drive in Charlotte. Pick out an adoptable dog, show ID, sign a waiver, and take them home for up to five days.
- Foster a dog: Consider a longer term foster assignment. Fostering reduces long-term boarding of animals who can suffer from kennel stress which often leads to behavior issues. Foster-centric is a trending tern that describes a new model for animal sheltering. It puts animals who are ready for adoption in homes in the community, leaving space at the shelter for the animals who need special care or management. Fill out an application online to foster.
- Adopt: If you have been thinking about adding a furry friend to your family, there is no better time than now. Adopting one animal will save two lives: by saving the one you adopt and the one who takes its place. Details on the adoption process are online. Visit CMPD Animal Care & Control this Saturday to adopt.
Charlotte Humane Society
- 2700 Toomey Ave, Charlotte, NC 28203
- To schedule an appointment to meet available animals, please click the button on the Adopt A Dog or Adopt A Cat page OR follow the link at the bottom of the animals’ profiles to schedule your appointment. You must be 18 or older to adopt and have a valid form of identification.
- View adoptable pets
Gaston County Animal Care and Enforcement
- Saturday 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
- 1491 Business Park Ct, Gastonia, NC 28052
- View adoptable pets
Cleveland County Animal Services
- Saturday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
- 1609 Airport Rd, Shelby, NC 28150
- View adoptable pets
Lancaster SPCA
- Saturday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
- 2074 Pageland Hwy, Lancaster, SC 29720
- View adoptable pets
Lincoln County Animal Services
- Saturday 12-4
- 650 John Howel Memorial Dr Lincolnton, NC 28092
- View adoptable pets
Carolina Pet Adoption Welfare Society ( P.A.W.S)
Charlotte, NC
Catawba County Animal Services
201 Government Services Drive, Newton, NC 28658
828-466-6814
CMPD Animal Care & Control
8315 Byrum Dr, Charlotte, NC 28217
704-336-7600
Cleveland County Animal Services
1609 Airport Rd, Shelby, NC 28150
704-481-9884 ext. 5
Gaston County Animal Care and Enforcement
1491 Business Park Court, Gastonia, NC 28052
704-922-8677
Greater Charlotte SPCA
Charlotte, NC
Humane Society of Charlotte
2700 Toomey Ave, Charlotte, NC 28203
704-377-0534
Humane Society of York County
8177 Regent Parkway Suite 103, Fort Mill, SC 29715
803-802-0902
Lancaster SPCA
Lancaster, SC 29721
803-398-1119
Lincoln County Animal Services
650 John Howell Memorial Dr, Lincolnton, NC 28092
704-736-4125
Rusty's Legacy Dog Rescue
828-460-3190
Other NBC stations across the country are participating in the annual pet adoption drive.
The map below highlights the participating shelters.
This year, Clear the Shelters was a month-long campaign, finding homes for animals across the Charlotte area who need a forever family. Donations can be made online with 100% of the money going to the shelter or rescue. WCNC Charlotte has teamed up with 11 shelters and rescues to support the annual adoption campaign.
Also new this year are the opportunities to find pets online and via the WeRescue app, and to donate to hundreds of other shelters that are not able to remain open during the COVID-19 crisis, but still desperately need help to care for animals and place them in homes.
To help individuals and communities continue to practice safe social distancing measures, WCNC Charlotte's month-long “Adopt & Donate” effort will feature virtual pet adoptions and make it easy for people to donate online to participating shelters and rescues. The campaign runs from Aug. 23 through Sept. 19, 201.