Wake County launches Adoption Cup to boost pet adoptions

Wake County Animal Center has turned the World Cup into a shelter-side competition, launching Adoption Cup on June 11 with Team Dog and Team Cat facing off for the most adoptions through July 19. County officials said the point is not just the scoreboard, but moving more animals out of the shelter and into homes during a period when the county is still handling a steady flow of pets.

The campaign leans on weekly social media updates and lower adoption costs to draw attention. Dogs that have been at the shelter more than two weeks were offered for $25, while qualifying cats were available through name-your-price adoption. That is well below the county’s regular adoption fees of $95 for dogs, $45 for cats under five and $15 for cats over five.

Susan Evans said the effort is about helping animals find forever homes, with the incentives meant to make it easier for families to take part. The county said every adopted animal leaves Wake County Animal Center spayed or neutered, microchipped and current on vaccines, a package officials say saves families hundreds of dollars in vet costs and gives pets a healthier start in their new homes.

The timing also reflects the pressure on the county’s only open-admission shelter, which takes in all stray, abandoned and surrendered pets in Wake County and helps re-home thousands of homeless animals each year. At the start of the campaign, the center listed 60 dogs, 21 cats and seven kittens available for adoption, along with 41 adoptable dogs, 15 cats and 17 kittens in foster care. Foster homes help ease the load by freeing up space for other animals, especially kittens, bully breeds and pets that need socialization or minor behavioral work.

Wake County has spent much of the spring and early summer using themed promotions and fee cuts to speed adoptions. A June cat campaign offered $5 adoptions for cats older than 6 months during kitten season, when the county says the Animal Center facilitates more than 500 kitten adoptions each summer as animals reach the 8-week-old and 2-pound adoption threshold. Earlier, the county ran a National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day promotion from April 25 through May 10 with $5 adoptions for every pet at the shelter.

The adoption floor at 820 Beacon Lake Drive in Raleigh, near I-440 and New Bern Avenue, is open daily from noon to 6 p.m. Adopters must meet a pet in person before starting the process, be 18 or older and show a valid photo ID. Wake County also bars anyone under 18 from entering the adoption floor, even with an adult, a policy that sits alongside the county’s broader effort to keep the shelter moving and reduce crowding as summer intake continues.