good morning. this is news 4 your sunday. >> hello. i'm pat law sson muse. if you have a little extra room in your home, how about sharing with a furry friend. across the country, animal shelters are teaming up to clear the shelters. joining us this morning to talk about the effort are amanda navotny, communications and outreach manager at the fairfax county animal shelter. lauren lipsy. she's representing the oglethorpe and new york avenue shelters. and kathryn

so good to see all of you. that's all a mouthful. >> it is. >> it is the third annual clear the shelters event. there are more than 800 shelters in 20 days and washington, d.c. taking part in it. this is a one-day adoption drive. we love animals and love helping find forever homes for them. tell us how it works. >> today the fee is waived. i think you said there are 30 in the d.c. metro area. if they've been prolonging the process, we're not compromising the process. it's an enjoyable time and the heart of the summer season when the populations of animals are high. shelters are full, we're at capacity all across the country. this is the time to adopt if you're interested. >> interesting. why are they full in summer? >> we are certainly full.

kitten season. it's just a time of year where we're just notoriously busy. kittens, animals are just having babies, and we certainly are experiencing that right now. we have a lot of cats. we have a lot of kittens. we also just have a lot of other types of animals. so we're hoping that people show up and adopt cats, kittens, dogs, any type of animal they are considering. >> and the objective is to get forever homes, not foster homes, right? >> we want to clear the shelters and have them go to forever homes where they'll be loved the rest of their lives. >> what about people who can't make the commitment? can they get information on that day? >> they could come and visit. our shelters are welcoming places, they're fun. we will have events going on outside the shelter. but if people want to get involved and maybe can't make

ti time commitment, we have foster programs. >> we have a lot of people who are looking to take animals home that day. they will be the ones who we want to facilitate their experience and help them take an animal home. if you are not sure yet, look, we're open most other days of the year. really, look on our website, look for adopt williable animal. visit us anytime. >> you know the numbers of homeless numbers is staggering across the country. it's estimated, 7.5 million are available for adoption. only a third get adopted. is the economy contributing to those numbers? you talk about how many there are. and we tell people all yearlong, go and adopt a pet, but there are always so many. is it because -- >> without a doubt, the

someone's ability to own and take care of an animal. we all have differing abilities to do that. however, we are grateful if someone is in need of finding a place for their animal that they do turn to us. we are in the business of trying to find other homes for those animals. often vet expenses. it's access to resources. we're fortunate in washington, d.c. at our organization to have an outreach program that provides low cost and free spay or neuter services. we also provide a food bank if people are in need of food to feed their animals. unfortunately, those are barriers, though, to pet ownership. if someone is struggling to take care of their own family, obviously, an animal is just another mouth to feed. and we recognize and understand that fact, and it that's why we exist, to help find homes for animals who no longer have their own home. >> you're at the oglethorpe sheltn

to fine when they go to the new york avenue shelter or the one on oglethorpe. >> regardless of the day, you will be able to walk in and see any of the animals available for adoption, cats, dogs, guinea pigs, snakes, gerbils, you name it. a lot of people don't realize they can come to the shelter for small mammal and small animal pets. you will see an animal you want to meet, we'll get the animal out of the enclosure, if it's a dog, it can go in the yard. if it's a cat, we can open the enclosure and you can play with the cat. we hope it will go home that day. >> we will talk about clear the shelters in just a minute.

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welcome back. we're talking about clear the shelters, coming up this thursday, here in the washington area. there are 32 showers in the

helping us find homes for pets. how many do you have? >> right now we have about 400 animals that we're providing care for. not all of them are available for adoption, but it's a busy time of year for us. staff are doing all they can to care for them. so we're really hoping that people turn out for clear the shelters and adopt. >> what about you, amanda in. >> we have about 80 to 90 available in the shelter. like kathryn said, not all of them are available. but we have about 80 or 90 for adoption and foster care as well. >> you were telling me, the month of august is a good time to do this? because most people have had their vacations now. and maybe can make the commitment. >> if you're going to be bringing an animal home, we want to make sure that that home you're bringing them home to is stable for as long as possible, don't go on vacation the week after you bring home a

if you bring a kitten home, make sure you have time to make the kitten be introduced to the home. it is important that people understand that these are not just plug and chug animals. that they are individuals. they respond to a new environment and do require the time necessary to help them in that adjustment period. >> what are your shelters doing differently or especially for this day? >> we are opening earlier. >> mm-hm. >> we are enlisting the support of volunteers. we have all staff on deck that day to have more people doing counseling. we call it adoption counseling. so when you peick your animal, choose your animal. we help you with what it's going to take to introduce your animal to the home. more staff that day. and we recognize it is going to make it logistically difficult, but we've done it successfully. so we're looking forward to another yea

catherine. >> we're going to have just about the same process or doing the same thing that lauren described. last year we adopted about 78 animals, i believe, in one day. we opened early. we, you know, we're doing adoptions until the very end. just, it's a crazy day, but it's a great day. people really show up and they're interested in adopting and helping out. last year was amazing, and we're expecting just the same this year. >> we're seeing pictures of animals here. here you have a cat and there was a rabbit before that, amanda. most people go to shelters looking for cats and dogs. but there are a lot of other animals that people do keep as pets. talk about some of them. >> so at our hell teshelter we guinea pigs, gerbils, rats, snakes. we have two chickens right now. >> someone gave

>> they were stray chickens, actually. >> when you come to adopt one of these species, be assured of what's legal in your home. some jurisdictions don't allow certain species of animals. be clear on what is available to you when you show up at our locations to adopt. >> and people also need to be aware of the special care and needs of these other animals. i know the care's not the same. >> they're not any easier than a dog or cat necessarily, they're just different. rabbits are very personable. they require outside of the cage exercise. they need toys. you can harness train them to let they wim hop around. they're not any easier, just different. >> many of these animals that people might be inclined to put in a cage and put on a shelf or in the closet or someplace in their home, they're actually social animals, and they need

>> they need interaction with their person and other animals in the home. >> even the snake? >> even a snake. a snake can be very social. i think you were talking about your husband and walking around with his snake and taking, going for walks. >> you took your snake for a walk? >> a snake that he used to have. i would put the snake around his neck and take his two boston terriers for walks and have the snake around his neck. >> of course you want the interspecies interaction to be appropriate. not all dogs can live with snakes, but it's happened. it can happen. >> all righty, we're going to take a break. we'll continue talking about clearing the shelters of all the animals of all the species, when we come back.

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z2fwbz z16fz y2fwby y16fy welcome back. we're talking about clear the shelters, which takes place next saturday, august 19th. and lauren, a

would take a special needs animal or an older animal. tell us how much more difficult they are to get adopted out. >> they're a lot more difficult to get adopted out. because people come to us looking for the perfect animal. every animal hass its own thing. we do full behavior assessment and medical evaluations of our animals and can tell you what we know about that animal's behavior and medical condition. if it's a senior animal and it has medical issues we are treating we make that animal available for adoption anyway, with full transparency about what it's facing, what the lifetime care is going to be, if it has an end of treatment date, we can say it's going to be cured or if it's on medication, we send it home with you. and we make

to take on the care of the animal and understand the obligation for the lifetime of that animal. >> you were talking about adopting out animals that are sick and people who don't mind taking on that responsibility. >> yeah. people show up for these pets. people absolutely, they make great pets. we, we, though we can at certain points have quite a few of them, ones that need more care, we have people that will certainly come and adopt them, but yeah, they do require more care. but if we put that call out for them, people do often come and adopt them. >> and are there incentives that people can get? i mean, it deepends on the shelter. >> we have purple care and amber care through our non-profit, they cover these adoption fees, so purple care is for cats, amber care for the dogs. they can also, adopters can also apply for assistance with any

>> and amanda, how has social media helped change your life and your business? the shelter business? >> it's been a huge game changer. so often people want to make a connection with an animal before they even visit the shelter. social media allows us to show great photos and stories from our volunteers and foster homes and staff members to try to make that connection with this animal's potential forever family before they even meet in person. it's been huge. i find that you till an animal's story, people come in specifically to meet that animal in real life and they often end up adopting that animal. it's huge. >> can you talk to me about pet insurance these days? because i had animals that had medical needs and i spent a lot of money on surgical procedures and medications, and when i get

shufr insurance if it will help. >> there are differing opinions. i got it for my two dogs, recognizing i would not be able to handle a catastrophic event. but i did not want that decision to mean that i had to give them up or fine another, something else to do with them. so i decided to offer insurance. if you are considering this animal a part of your family, which we encourage everyone to do so, think about what you would do for a member of your family. and insurance might be a responsible thing to do. >> can they get that information at the shelters? or do they need to go to the vet? >> we do at the municipal shelter, we have, there are some challenges that we face in terms of making that sort of recommendation, so we, in montgomery county would certainly suggest that people talk to their vet about that. i know other places are able to make some suggestions, excuse m

niam my. >> we offer, they get 30 days of insurance, they can continue it or cancel it or go it another insurance organization. so we offer it to allow people to look into it for free for 30 days and then they can make the decision. >> they are spayed or neutered, a sample of food, a gift of insurance. we give a list of all the surrounding veterinarians that we encourage people to go to who are trusted. additionally, our animals, and i think a lot of organizations do this, get a free wellness visit to any one of these participating vets. within the first few weeks of having your pet, take them to the vet, get them checked out. we encourage annual wellness care, and you neat to start that relationship between your animal and the vet. >> do you encourage people to come and see the al

clear the shelters day? >> you're looking at me. so we are actually, we will be closed the day before. we're going to be closed on friday. we want people of course to show up on saturday. if people want to look at the website, we encourage that. we have all the animals who are going to be there on saturday. but we are going to be closed on friday. so i do want to put that out there. >> we want everyone to come every day of the week that we're open and adopt before clear the shelters to avoid the rush. >> and it is first come/first serve. >> yes. >> if you see one before clear the shelters and someone comes between you and before you get there, we want to make the right match, and if it happens to be with the person in front of us, they will go home with that person. >> the fees won't be waived early, but you have more of a selection. which is great. >> and we are going to

some of the animals that we have here with us in the studio as we talk more about clear the shelters. we'll be right back.

so we want to show you some of our guests this morning. the first is haywin, who is a two month old, and he's the cutest little guy i've seen all day. >> he's pretty adorable. in d.c., it's pretty rare we have puppies this young come into our shelter. but he was brought in by someone who moved into a home in which they could not have a dog or animals of whatever his perceived breed is. so we have him, and he is available for adoption. >> he's awfully cute and has a great personality. >> he's about the most mellow puppy i've ever seen. and understanding that puppies need time for house training and they're quite an obligation, but he's pretty mellow. >> you have a kitten in your hand. >> yes

>> jake is a little four month old kitten, and he lives with about four other kittens. and he is ready to be adopt, hoping to get adopted, maybe even before clear the shelters. but we have quite a few kittens at the shelter right now who are just as cute as little jake. but look at him. he is just as sweet as they come. >> and vocal. >> ihe's talking a lot. >> and down at the end we have cocoa bean. >> she being real sassy. she does not want to move. >> camera-shy maybe. >> this is a guinea pig. >> she's a guinea pig, about seven months old, full of personality, as you can see. she keeps bumping my hand out of the way. >> there she is. >> we have guinea pigs and rabbits and a number of small animals.

so if you have a rabbit at home, you don't have to worry about them creating more baby rabbits. >> they're very social, yeah. >> i would assume they need and accept donations. what do you need? >> absolutely. >> what do you need? >> towels and blankets, toys for the animals. food. we do a food bank for members of the public and accept donations for that. we do have a wish list on our home page if people want to visit that. the amazon wish list, but blankets, we always in need of. >> okay. >> we should let everyone know that nbc 4's wendy rieger will be at the loudoun county shelter. and sheena parveen will be there. w

owners in our newsroom. >> wonderful. >> we're very grateful for the support, and i am just excited about this day. i think members of the public get really excited about this day. i encourage everyone to come out and be patient with the process and understand we want to help everyone find the right animal for them. >> can you come home with me? i've got room for you. >> happy to make that happen. >> thank you for being with us. clear the shelters on august 19. and we hope you will go find an animal and give that animal a forever home. we encourage you to participate and join us. we'll be covering it all day long. for more information about clear the shelters, log onto nbcwashington.com and search clear the shelters. i'm pat lawson muse. stay with us for news 4 today.

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chaos in charlottesville. >> i mean, it's the most horrific thing i've ever seen in my life peup. >> you pretend you are patriots. >> a city battered by hate. right now on "news4 today" the new calls for action after the violence. good sunday morning to you. we have a horrific scene playing out in the streets of charlottesville. one person dead as a result of car slam into a crowd. >> overnight there was calm and