NBC10 and Telemundo62 announced that more than 5,500 pets were adopted from area animal shelters and rescues during its annual Clear The Shelters pet adoption and donation initiative which ran from Aug. 23 to Sept. 19, 2021. Of that number, 981 adoptions took place on Saturday, Sept. 18. The campaign’s donation effort, which continues until Nov. 1, has already raised more than $7,000 for local shelters and rescues in the Greater Philadelphia region.
Nationwide, NBCUniversal Local’s seventh annual Clear The Shelters helped more than 136,000 pets – and counting – find new homes. Since its 2015 inception, Clear The Shelters has led to more than 31,000 pet adoptions in the market and more than 688,000 adoptions nationwide.
“We are thrilled that more than 5,500 animals have found their forever homes with the help from 52 local shelters and rescues in the Philadelphia region,” said Ric Harris, President and General Manager of NBC10 and Telemundo62. “On behalf of NBC10 and Telemundo62, we thank and appreciate all of the individuals who have adopted and donated, making this year’s Clear the Shelters campaign another great success.”
Among the many success stories from this year’s Clear the Shelters campaign was that of Chuck, an 11-year old Chihuahua that the Brandywine Valley SPCA had brought up from a southern shelter where older pups like him have little chance of being adopted. Chuck’s adopters spotted him on Brandywine’s Facebook post previewing some of the adoptable animals for the event. The family arrived at 6:30 a.m. to Brandywine’s West Chester location on Saturday, Sept. 18 to be first in line. The family who adopted Chuck says he has been a “wonderful companion” to their son who is an amputee currently using a wheelchair (photo attached).
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The 2021 Clear The Shelters was again supported by fundraising partners Greater Good Charities and The Animal Rescue Site, which covered all transaction fees so that 100 percent of donations went directly to shelters and rescues. Virtual pet adoptions also returned for this year’s campaign through partner Clear The Shelters WeRescue.
For more information about NBCUniversal Local’s Clear The Shelters, visit ClearTheShelters.com and the Spanish-language site DesocuparlosAlbergues.com. Follow the effort on Twitter @ClearTheShelter, and on social media using #ClearTheShelters and #DesocuparLosAlbergues.
