Riverside County, CA – One of the most popular adoption specials returns this Saturday at three Riverside County Animal Services’ shelters.

The Black Saturday Special on Nov. 25 gives would-be adopters the chance to find their perfect pet for free.

Participating shelters include the Coachella Valley Animal Campus in Thousand Palms, the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus in San Jacinto and the Western Riverside County/City Animal Shelter in Jurupa Valley. The shelter addresses and operation hours can be found here: www.rcdas.org

“We’ve been pleasantly surprised at the turnouts during the years we’ve been doing this specific event,” Director Robert Miller said. “It has historically become one of our biggest, one-day adoption events each year, thanks to all the families who opened up their homes for a new friend.”

This year’s theme is to market what consumers cannot get on Amazon or at the local mall: a homeless pet.

“Nowadays, you can pretty much get anything you want online,” Miller said. “But we know you cannot get a live dog or cat on Amazon or when you shop at Wal-Mart. And so we’re encouraging people to consider giving a homeless pet a new chance at life at this special time of year.”

A series of fun photo images featuring that theme have been posted on Riverside County Animal Services’ Facebook pages and the department’s official Website.

Although pets can be adopted for free, Miller said he wanted to remind dog adopters of dogs aged 4-months-old or older must purchase a license if the adopter lives within the county’s jurisdictional areas. A dog license costs $17 for a one-year license.

As an additional note: Riverside County Animal Services shelters are closed on Thursday, Nov. 23, and Friday, Nov. 24, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. The shelters resume regular hours of operation on Saturday, Nov. 25.