‘Christmas in July’: Orange County Animal Services is over capacity, waives adoption fees

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — It’s “Christmas in July” at the Orange County Animal Services (OCAS) this weekend, with a promotional event to help with overcrowding.

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OCAS has reached beyond capacity and wants to encourage residents to adopt a pet from the shelter by waiving adoption fees.

This event comes as OCAS is facing capacity issues while caring for more than 200 dogs over the last several weeks.

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“It’s been a challenging not just for us but all the shelters around us as we’ve seen adoption and reclaim interest wane,” said Diane Summers, Manager for Orange County Animal Services. “We’ve received an overwhelming number of stray pets and in addition to those, we have a queue of more than 275 people who are seeking to surrender their dogs to our shelter.”

OCAS is also asking residents who have found a displaced pet to attempt to locate the owner rather than resorting to immediately bringing the pet to the shelter.

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“Data shows that most missing pets are within a quarter mile of home and that bringing them to the shelter could reduce their chance of being reunited with their family. Not all pet owners are aware of the shelter as a place to look for a lost pet or have the means to visit,” said Summers. “We’re asking those that have found a stray pet to hold onto them and take steps to find the owner.” OCAS shares those steps on the lost and found section of their website.

CLICK HERE to see the dogs and cats that are up for adoption.

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The “Christmas in July” event will be held Saturday, July 20 and Sunday, July 21

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