ANGOLA — The Community Humane Shelter of Steuben County announced 27 adoptions during their participation in BISSELL Pet Foundation’s Summer National “Empty the Shelters," event.

From July 6-31, a total of 31,861 pets were adopted from 337 shelters in 44 states. The Foundation teamed up with MetLife Pet Insurance for this lifesaving reduced-fee adoption event.

CHSSC participated July 10-15 and offered $50 for pet adoptions for dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens.

“Empty the Shelters,” is BISSELL Pet Foundation’s largest initiative and continues to grow each year to provide critical relief to overcrowded shelters. Since the event’s inception in 2016, more than 191,986 pets have found loving homes through this lifesaving event. BISSELL Pet Foundation provides grants for each adoption - $100 per dog and $50 per cat - allowing shelters to reduce adoption fees to $50 or less. Pets must be spayed/neutered, vaccinated and microchipped before being adopted out, an additional cost savings for the family, making the choice to adopt even more affordable.

"The people that chose to adopt during our Summer National ‘Empty the Shelters’ event literally saved lives as shelter pets are at risk," said Cathy Bissell, Founder of BISSELL Pet Foundation. "Shelters nationwide are in crisis with an overwhelming number of highly adoptable, homeless pets. Each adopter who chose consciously to adopt a pet is my hero and made a lifesaving difference.”

This event was an exciting first for the current director and staff. “We were nervous, but excited about participating in the Empty the Shelters event. This was the first time any staff at the shelter had done an event like this and we weren’t sure what the community participation would be like, so we decided to start small. We’re looking forward to participating again and extending the dates out to match the full month of sponsorships offered by Bissell.”

For more information on adopting or donating to “Empty the Shelters,” visit www.bissellpetfoundation.org/empty-the-shelters as well as www.chssteubencounty.org .