From May 1 to May 15, 2025, more than 380 animal shelters in 43 states are participating in the nation's largest pet adoption initiative: BISSELL Pet Foundation's Empty the Shelters®. Since its inception in 2016, this event has helped over 324,000 pets find a home.
Overcrowding in animal shelters is a huge problem, and animals are often surrendered to shelters often through no fault of their own. That's why Cathy Bissell, founder of the BISSELL Pet Foundation, created the Empty the Shelters® event.
Cathy was kind enough to answer some questions about the event, its impact, and its importance, which may inspire you to go out and adopt a new pet of your own during this event or find out how else you can help shelter pets.
What Is Empty the Shelters®?
Empty the Shelters® is a nationwide pet adoption initiative that's exactly what it sounds like. Animal shelters in 43 states around the country partner with the BISSELL Pet Foundation to help reduce overcrowding in animal shelters.
During the event, reduced-fee adoptions of only $70 or less can help more pets find homes by making pet adoptions more affordable. To add to its affordability, every animal that is adopted during this event will also be spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped.
This spring's event runs from May 1 to May 15. If you're interested in bringing a new pet into your home, you can visit BISSELL Pet Foundation's website to find a participating shelter near you.
What inspired Cathy Bissell to create the Empty the Shelters® event?
Cathy Bissell, the founder of BISSELL Pet Foundation, has 14 years of experience in animal welfare. In 2008, she adopted a black Lab named Bear that completely changed her life and opened her eyes to the incredible pets in shelters waiting for loving homes. That's what inspired her to start the BISSELL Pet Foundation, and Cathy now collaborates with small and large animal shelters around the country to understand the challenges they face, and create programs to support pet adoptions and animal welfare.
As for what inspired Cathy to create the Empty the Shelters® event, she had this to say:
"I've always loved animals, but seeing shelter overcrowding up close and understanding the difficult
choices shelters face was heartbreaking. I truly believed that if more people knew about the amazing
pets waiting in shelters, they’d be more likely to adopt. That led to the launch of our Empty the Shelters® program in 2016."
"You’d be surprised by how many shelters have pets like yours and mine – including purebreds, many
trained, have known homes, and have been a family’s best friend. They’re simply waiting for someone
to give them a second chance, and we must help them."
To date, the program has been a huge success, helping more than 324,000 pets from more than 800 shelters in 49 U.S. states and Canada find homes.
December 2024's Holiday Hope Empty the Shelters® event was incredibly successful, leading to almost 22,000 adoptions across 45 states. Cathy says, "We’re hopeful our upcoming May event will be our biggest yet. By reducing financial barriers, we’re making adoption more accessible and helping shelters save more lives."
What's causing the current animal shelter overcrowding?
The sad reality is that shelters throughout the United States are overcrowded with pets waiting for a chance for a loving home. Many of them ended up there at no fault of their own, but many shelters don't have room to take in new animals, nor do they have the resources to give all the animals the level of care that they need until they find a new home.
Despite the assumption that many pet owners don't care about their animals, which is why they give them up for adoption, the sad reality is that many people are surrendering their pets because they feel like they don't have any other options.
Cathy says, "Shelters are overwhelmed right now. Rising inflation, housing challenges, and the high cost of vet care are pushing more families to surrender pets—not because they want to, but because they feel like they have no other option."
Pet ownership is becoming less and less affordable, and pet owners are having to make some tough decisions. Additionally, a lack of spaying and neutering is causing more litters, and more animals ending up in shelters as a result. Animals in shelters are having a hard time finding homes because adoption costs, spay/neuter costs, and other essential vet care costs are becoming more expensive.
That's why the Empty the Shelters® event is so important. It allows for adoption fees, as well as essential care such as spaying and neutering, microchipping, and vaccinations to be more affordable for pet owners.
"The lack of spaying and neutering leads to unplanned litters and more animals than shelters can handle. That’s why we’re so focused on prevention. Every Empty the Shelters® adoption includes spay/neuter at no cost to the adopter. And through our Fix the Future® program, we provide free spay/neuter surgeries and vaccinations for $35 or less, bringing this critical service to underserved communities." - Cathy Bissell, founder of BISSELL Pet Foundation
If you are not able to adopt, how else can you contribute to Empty the Shelters®?
Although adopting is the best way to empty the shelters, it is understandable that some households and animal lovers may not be in a position to adopt a pet at this time. But that doesn't mean you can't still contribute to the success of Empty the Shelters®.
According to Cathy, donations to the BISSELL Pet Foundation make a huge impact. They're what allows the event to be successful. 100% of donations go to BISSELL Pet Foundation's programs like
Empty the Shelters® and Fix the Future®.
If you want to help, you can donate directly to Empty the Shelters® here. Besides donating to the Empty the Shelters® event, you can also volunteer at your local animal shelter or donate supplies to help shelter animals in your own community.
Whether you choose to adopt or simply donate to the cause, you're still helping to save the lives of shelter animals and reduce overcrowding. But if you do want to adopt, remember that the next event is happening May 1 to May 15. If you can't adopt at this event but want to adopt in the future, keep an eye out for future Empty the Shelters® events at a shelter near you.