BISSELL - WKTV Journal

BISSELL Pet Foundation founder Cathy Bissell (Courtesy)

By Philip Janowski, WKTV Contributing Writer

The BISSELL Pet Foundation’s Empty the Shelters summer event aims to relieve stress on animal shelters across the country.

The annual event, which began July 11 and runs through July 31, hopes to provide a relief valve for the homeless pets.

Shelters are experiencing an all-time high of dog and cat residents that was accelerated by the COVID pandemic and the housing and rental crisis.

Fig and Friends Pet Rescue

“Intake numbers are up, adoption numbers are down,” said Julie Beukema, of Fig and Friends Pet Rescue. “Combine that with an increase in vet costs and the daily expenses of housing animals, and you have the perfect storm.

“Every inch of every shelter and rescue that I know is full.”

During the nationwide Empty the Shelters event, the BISSELL Pet Foundation (also known as BPF) sponsors reduced adoption fees for $50 or less. The event is hosted at over 250 organizations in 42 states. In Michigan, nearly 40 sites are participating.

“Shelters are calling me daily, and BISSELL Pet Foundation is feeling the burden of overcrowding,” said Cathy Bissell, who founded BPF in 2011. “Empty the Shelters is the largest funded adoption event in the country, and by extending the event to three weeks, we can help meet the immediate need to save lives.”

Saving two lives: the adopted pet and the one taking its place in the shelter

The Empty the Shelters program itself started in 2016, and since its inception, over 96,000 pets have found homes at participating shelters in the United States and Canada. Events are held quarterly.

As part of the program the BPF pays the majority of adoption fees, allowing for adopters to take home a fully vaccinated, microchipped, and spayed or neutered pet. Shelters get a second chance to give pets they love a home. And pets win by finding a loving family.

“Shelters, rescues, and those involved in running them are in great distress,” explained Julie Beukema. “I continue to get calls every day from people wanting to surrender animals or from someone that found a cat or kitten. Yesterday, I had a request [to drop off] a mom cat and four kittens.”

Local participating shelters include the Humane Society of West Michigan and the Kent County Animal Shelter. For more information, visit the BISSELL Pet Foundation’s website at https://www.bissellpetfoundation.org/ and the Empty the Shelters page at https://www.bissellpetfoundation.org/programs/empty-the-shelters/.

Cora, a one-eyed, 9.5-year-old dog was all to find her fur-ever home in the Empty the Shelters: Big Dog and Cat Crisis campaign. (Supplied)

By Brittany Schlacter
BISSELL Pet Foundation

More than 1,800 dogs and cats found forever homes over the course of six days through the emergency “Empty the Shelters: Big Dog & Cat Crisis” event with BISSELL Pet Foundation. The event was hosted in 97 shelters in 29 states. BISSELL Pet Foundation aided shelters experiencing overcrowding by sponsoring reduced fees for harder to place pets, including adult cats and large and senior dogs.

Approximately 808 adult cats and 997 large or senior dogs were adopted during the event hosted Aug. 16-22, 2021, including 33 cat and 49 dog “foster failures,” (when a foster family plans to adopt the pet) and a total of 1,887 animal lives were touched because of the effort.

Since Jan. 2021, BISSELL Pet Foundation has helped find homes for 12,427 pets and provided $927,100 in direct funding to the shelter partners through “Empty the Shelters.”

“With shelters struggling with overcrowding across the country, the adoptions through this emergency ‘Empty the Shelter’ have opened up space to help another 1,805 pets in need,” said Cathy Bissell, founder of BISSELL Pet Foundation. “We thank our partner shelters for the incredible work they did to help these pets find families, and of course a heartfelt thank you to all of the people who chose adoption and gave these pets a second chance at life.”

While thousands of lives were saved, here are just a few notable adoption stories from throughout the country:

Cora, a one-eyed, 9.5-year-old dog in Cummings, GA, found a fantastic home to live out her golden years after four months in the care of Animal Ark Rescue.
A diagnosis of kidney disease didn’t stop Sassy, the 14-year-old calico from Carsonville, MI, from securing her forever home during Sanilac County Humane Society’s event.
Houston Humane Society adopted out one of their longest residents during this emergency Empty the Shelters. Shelby, a six-year-old dog, found her family after 150 days at the shelter.

The next “Empty the Shelters” event is scheduled for October. For more information on adopting or donating to “Empty the Shelters,” visit www.bissellpetfoundation.org/empty-the-shelters.