Riverside County – County animal shelters and employees are readying for this Saturday’s Clear the Shelters event (Aug. 17).

The annual event is promoted heavily by NBC4 and Telemundo 52 and the media partners’ goal is to see plenty of empty kennel runs and vacated cat condos; in short, the hope is a “clearing” of all shelter pets.

Riverside County Animal Services is offering a special “name-your-adoption-donation” at its three participating shelters in Jurupa Valley, San Jacinto and Thousand Palms. (Shelter addresses can be found here: www.rcdas.org.) The name-your-adoption-donation can be whatever amount the adopter chooses.

In the four years Riverside County has partnered with NBC4 and Telemundo52, more than 1,300 pets have been adopted into loving families.

“This event has brought hundreds of adopters to our shelters in past years – and we’re hopeful we’ll see the same results on Saturday,” said Dr. Allan Drusys, director and chief veterinarian for Riverside County Animal Services. “We are always pleasantly surprised by the large turnout of people wanting to adopt.”

Although Riverside County Animal Services is promoting Clear the Shelters as a name-your-adoption-donation event, would-be adopters must remember to bring a valid ID and, also, be prepared to pay a dog license fee if the adopter lives within Riverside County’s jurisdiction. A dog license fee is $17 in most areas covered by Riverside County.

A few key notes for those planning to attend on Saturday:

This event will draw huge crowds to each of the county’s shelters. Coming with some patience is strongly urged. The public will far outnumber the employees and the dedicated volunteers donating their time during Clear the Shelters, so guests should be prepared for longer wait times.

Also, there is a very strong possibility that multiple families will be vying for the same pet. Animal Services handles such situations with a fair, lottery-like drawing. (Only one lottery ball selection is allowed per family.) There is no need to camp out hours before our shelters open because we do not honor “first-come-first-serve” adoptions.

Finally, adopters with dogs at home should not bring their pet for a “meet-and-greet” request. Staff members will not be able to coordinate meet-and-greets on such a busy day.

Regardless of the adoption-donation amount, all adoptions will still include the pet’s spay or neuter surgery, a microchip and vaccinations.