BARC participated May 3 -15 and offered discounted $10 adoptions as well as waived fees during select days for pets including dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens. In total, 100 dogs and 38 cats were adopted into their forever homes through the spring Empty the Shelter campaign, making it one of the City’s most successful ETS campaigns to date.

“Empty the Shelters” is BISSELL Pet Foundation’s largest initiative and continues to grow each year to provide critical relief to overcrowded shelters. The nationwide event set a new record during this event with 280 participating shelters. BISSELL Pet Foundation provides grants for each adoption – $100 per dog and $50 per cat – allowing shelters to reduce adoption fees to $25 or less. Pets must be spayed/neutered, vaccinated and microchipped before being adopted out, an additional cost savings for the family, making the choice to adopt even more affordable.

“Right now, shelters are so full, and pets are experiencing longer stays. Our partners are reporting that ‘Empty the Shelters’ is driving even more adopters into their facilities. With the decline in transport, local adoptions have become our primary lifesaving tool,” said Cathy Bissell, founder of BISSELL Pet Foundation. “This is an expensive program for our small foundation, but it is a proven success, and we can’t turn our backs when we know we can save thousands of lives in one event.”

This Memorial Day weekend, BARC hopes to repeat the success from this campaign by offering $5 pet adoptions from noon to 5 p.m. on May 28 and 29, for all fixed and ready-to-go dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens. Pets must already be spayed or neutered at the time of adoption to qualify for this promotion.

To meet our adoptable pets, stop by BARC’s Adoption Center at 3300 Carr St. from 12 – 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday or visit http://www.houstontx.gov/barc/adopt_a_pet.html to see our adoptable pets. For more information on BARC’s full services, visit www.houstonbarc.com.

About BARC

BARC, the City of Houston’s Animal Shelter and Adoption Center, takes in more than 25,000 animals annually regardless of behavior, breed, or medical condition. BARC works each day to improve Houstonians and their pets’ health and safety by pioneering programs such as low-cost and no-cost spay/neuter services, mobile adoptions, transfer/rescue partnerships, and community outreach.
Through these programs and with community partners’ support, BARC’s live release rate has continued to improve and reached a historic high of 94.1% in calendar year 2021.

Visit www.houstonbarc.com or www.Facebook.com/BARCHouston for more information.

“George Floyd’s tragic murder galvanized a worldwide movement for policing reform and discussions about race and social justice, especially in Houston,” said Mayor Sylvester Turner. “It is vital that we continue to talk about the shared history and trauma we experience as a society due to violent events, no matter how difficult those conversations may be, so that we can effectuate change. Today, we honor George Floyd’s spirit by renewing our commitment to continuing the conversation around systematic change, racism, policing reform and ways to make our community and world more loving and accepting of all differences.”

Dr. Melanye Price, endowed professor of African American studies and political science and inaugural director of the Ruth J. Simmons Center for Race and Social Justice at Prairie View A&M University, offered opening remarks. The Ridge Point High School Choir and composer Dr. John Cornelius were on hand for musical tributes.

In memory of Houston native George Floyd, whose murder by a Minneapolis police officer ignited worldwide protests, the event highlighted the City of Houston and HPL’s efforts to chronicle race and social justice movements and capture the accounts of witnesses to history.

“The Houston Public Library answers the call to not only document and share the significant and tumultuous events that impact our local and national communities, but also provide community space needed for ongoing civic engagement” said Houston Public Library Director Dr. Rhea Brown Lawson. “With this annual lecture, HPL will help fulfill the critical need for collective reflection on the George Floyd tragedy and the growing number of catastrophic events that have inspired a national reckoning with the issue of race.”

Two years after Mr. Floyd’s death, events relating to the crime—the arrest, trial, guilty verdict and sentencing of one of the police officers responsible—and the community’s response have been recorded by HPL librarians and archivists for a digital archive and physical collection on display at the African American Library at the Gregory School.

About Houston Public Library
The Houston Public Library (HPL) operates 38 neighborhood libraries, three HPL Express Libraries, a Central Library, the Houston Metropolitan Research Center, the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research, The African American Library at the Gregory School, and the Parent Resource Library located in the Children’s Museum of Houston. With more than eight million visits per year in person and online, HPL is committed to excellent customer service and equitable access to information and programs by providing library customers with free use of a diverse collection of printed materials and electronic resources, Internet, laptop and computer use, and a variety of database and reference resources with live assistance online 24/7. For more information, visit the Houston Public Library at www.houstonlibrary.org, on Twitter @houstonlibrary, on Instagram @houstonlibrary, on Facebook – houstonlibrary or call 832-393-1313.

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