Clear the Shelters and Help Animals Find Their Fur-ever Homes

Here’s how you can support the Hawaiian Humane Society during Clear the Shelters Month and take advantage of waived adoption fees.

August 23, 2023

Andrea Lee,

Adoptable dog Peggy. Photo: Courtesy of Hawaiian Humane Society

Every August is Clear the Shelters Month at the Hawaiian Humane Society, during which specials are offered to incentivize more adoptions. Since the HHS is currently over capacity, this is the perfect time to adopt or help the animal welfare organization find homes for its guests, especially the long-stay ones.

Adoptable dogs Ewa (left) and Kona (right). Photos: Courtesy of Hawaiian Humane Society

Waived Adoption Fees

Thanks to partners NBCUniversal, Hill’s Pet Nutrition and Greater Good Charities, the Hawaiian Humane Society can waive adoption fees that would normally be used to help cover the veterinary services for the animals in its care. Through the end of this month, adoption fees for cats and kittens are completely waived.

But with so many animals needing homes, HHS is introducing a new adoption special. From Friday, Aug. 25, to Thursday, Aug. 31, adoption fees will be waived for all animals, and if you adopt, you’ll get a complimentary goodie bag along with your new fur baby.

The waived adoption fees apply at Hawaiian Humane’s Mō‘ili‘ili Campus and Kosasa Family Campus as well as Pounce Hawai‘i and Hawai‘i Cat Cafe. You can also take advantage of the waiver at the pop-up dog adoption event at Petco Beretania on Saturday, Aug. 26, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Here are the current adoptable animals at the Hawaiian Humane Society.

Adoptable cat Fudge (left) and recently adopted Orchid (right). Photos: Courtesy of Hawaiian Humane Society

How to Help Clear the Shelters If You Can’t Adopt

Even if you’re not in the right place to adopt, that doesn’t mean you can’t contribute. There’s more than one way to help clear the shelters.

Foster

Many animals may not be ready for adoption for various reasons; they might be too young, unwell or not socialized enough for a home. However, being in a shelter environment is stressful for all animals, which is why fostering is so beneficial. If you have room in your home to share with an animal who needs a little more TLC, find out more about being a foster volunteer and apply online.

To see how much of a difference fostering can make for an animal, check out this video on The Dodo that shows how Gerald the cat blossomed as a Hawaiian Humane Society office foster.

Host a Couch Crasher

To help give dogs a break from the shelter and provide people with a more convenient fostering option, the Hawaiian Humane Society started the short-term foster program Couch Crashers. Participation requires a minimum 3-day foster, though ideally, you’d keep a couch crashing dog a week or two. After the foster period ends, you can adopt or return the dog. Filling out a Report Card for your couch crasher will also help them get adopted, as you can give insight into how they behave in daily life outside of the shelter.

Photo: Courtesy of Hawaiian Humane Society

Volunteer

There are many volunteering opportunities at the Hawaiian Humane Society campuses and adoption partner centers, including Petco and local cat cafés, and adults, youths and teams are welcome. Fill out an interest form to get started.

Donate

Taking care of all the animals is a big lift. If you’re able, you can donate funds to help Hawaiian Humane provide food, toys, veterinary care and everything else pets need to live comfortably while they wait to be adopted. HHS also has a wishlist of items you can drop off or purchase via Amazon.

Photo: Courtesy of Hawaiian Humane Society

Educate

Animal overpopulation is an ongoing issue, especially here in Hawai‘i where we have limited space and a vulnerable ecosystem. Spaying and neutering helps curb those numbers in the long run. If you have pets, get them fixed.

If your circumstances change and you think you can no longer keep your pet, explore your options as alternatives to surrender. On Hawaiian Humane’s Home to Home page, you can list your pet, and interested people can connect with you directly to figure out if they’ll be a good fit. There are also resources available to help with pet food, housing and behavioral issues.

Clear the Shelters Month, Aug. 1–31, Hawaiian Humane Society, (808) 356-2200, hawaiianhumane.org, @hawaiianhumane