Dozens of pets find new homes in Minneapolis 'Clear the Shelter' event

The Minneapolis city animal shelter has no pets available for adoption — and dozens of cats, dogs and other animals have new homes for the holidays — after a "clear the shelter" event on Friday.

Minneapolis Animal Care & Control waived adoption fees for all available pets on Friday and saw a big response.

"The shelter is clear! Dozens of dogs, cats and small critters found new homes today. Thanks to our staff, volunteers and adopters for making it happen," city officials posted on Facebook after the event.

Usual adoption fees for cats are $50 for city residents and $100 for non-residents; for dogs, the fees are $50 / $250.

Minneapolis residents who adopted pets on Friday did have to purchase a city pet license. And they had to spend time with an animal before completing the adoption paperwork.

In 2018, the shelter took in more than 1,100 dogs and nearly 900 cats. Many of those were stray animals that were returned to their owners.

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