Crowded shelter reduces rates

If you're looking for a good pet, this weekend just may be the best time to get one -- cheap.

More than 40 dogs and 40 cats are currently being housed at the Mat-Su Borough Animal Care and Regulation shelter, leaving fewer than five kennels available.

To reduce the overcrowding, ACR Chief Officer Dave Allison has reduced the adoption fees to $35 per animal.

That amount, Allison said, covers the cost of microchipping the pet and providing shots, but all other fees have been waived.

Although the shelter typically requires a $30 spay-neuter deposit be paid -- refundable upon proof of the animal's spaying or neutering, that fee, too, has been waived, although prospective owners are still responsible for getting the animal spayed or neutered.

Allison said the reduction will run through Tuesday afternoon, and he's encouraging people to visit the shelter and take part in the discount.

"It's a Fourth-of-July Blowout sale," Allison joked. "We have the Chickaloon dogs, a number of pups, lots of kittens and cats available."

Although the recent addition of 15 dogs from a Chickaloon resident added to the crowding, Allison said it's happening in part because ACR officers are following through on their duties.

"Because we're doing our service the right way, we're starting to have a lot more animals," Allison said. And, with the holiday coming up, that number is liable to increase substantially. The shelter typically sees a rise in lost animals and strays after the Fourth-of-July holiday, as a result of animals who flee at the sound of fireworks and other loud noises associated with the holiday.

For more information about the discount, contact the shelter at 746-5500 or visit the shelter. It's located off 49th State Street, adjacent to the Mat-Su Borough Central Landfill.