Animal Services Fee Waivers
RIVERSIDE (CNS) – To reduce the ongoing strain on shelters, the Riverside County Department of Animal Services announced Wednesday that fee waivers on pet adoptions will continue countywide.
A moratorium on adoption fees was implemented last fall and has remained in effect as the county’s four shelters continue to operate over capacity.
Officials have initiated other strategies to free up space, sending out requests for nonprofit organizations to transport the county’s impounded canines and felines to other places across the country for adoption campaigns. On Tuesday, Wings of Rescue flew 24 dogs and a cat previously in local shelters to Seattle, Washington, for placement in the City Animal Shelter.
“This flight was important because a majority of the dogs were larger breeds, which typically stay the longest amount of time in our shelters, sometimes over hundreds of days,” Department of Animal Services spokeswoman Daylin Valencia said.
The current waiver of fees at the county’s shelters means no charge for spay/neuter surgeries, vaccinations, microchips and engraved collars. Only state-mandated dog license fees are required. They generally run $25 for altered pets.
“With fee-waived adoptions, now is a great time to add a loving companion to your life,” county Supervisor Yxstian Gutierrez said.
There are more than 1,000 canines and about 100 cats available for adoption.
In May, the board approved a “no kill” policy, resolving that the county will make it an objective to preserve the lives of a minimum of 90% of all cats and dogs impounded at the county’s shelters.
The policy entails greater emphasis on free or low-cost spay/neuter clinics, enhanced “return-to-owner” programs that unite lost pets with their loved ones, adoption campaigns with full fee waivers, expedited “trap-neuter- return-to-field” programs that were inaugurated in March 2024 and pet fostering.
The latter provides opportunities for Inland Empire residents to take a dog or cat home for set or open periods, without the obligation to adopt. Fostered pets receive free veterinary care from the county and can be returned to a shelter anytime.
The no-kill effort dovetails with a reformation initiated by the board after one organization alleged that the county had the highest kill rate in the nation.
In 2024, the board hired Austin, Texas-based Outcomes for Pets LLC Principal Adviser Kristen Hassen to rectify problems within the agency, and last February the supervisors approved the Executive Office’s selection of Mary Martin to head the department following a nationwide executive recruitment drive.
Information about shelters’ hours of operation and adoption or fostering opportunities can be found at rcdas.org.
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