A DOGGONE GOOD DAY FOR POOCHES

Because of a surge in strays, Animal Services begins offering free adoptions indefinitely for the first time

Friday was lucky for Joshua and Sarah Day, who went to the Western Riverside County Animal Shelter in Jurupa Valley to adopt a dog, a 10-month-old black Labrador/pit bull mix they plan to name Zoe.

“I'd never seen a shelter this packed before,” said Joshua Day, who heard about the county's promotion of free adoptions on social media. “We weren't quite expecting to find a dog, but because of the promotion, we figured we'd try.”

For the first time, the county's Department of Animal Services is indefinitely waiving all adoption fees in an effort to clear packed shelters and save animals at risk of being put down. The free adoptions are driving crowds to the shelters, which is a welcome development for officials with a longer-than-usual list of shelter animals that could be euthanized. “Sometimes people turn to breeders, but there are so many rescues available,” Joshua Day said.

He and his wife, who live in Ontario, were not new to adopting dogs from shelters, but had always paid for them in the past. This time, they said, it was nice that they didn't need to.

“These promotions help get the dogs out of shelters

PHOTOS BY WATCHARA PHOMICINDA — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Kyle Collins, 21, left, and his grandmother, Roberta Dalton of Riverside, spend time with a dog that they're planning to adopt at the Riverside County Animal Shelter in Jurupa Valley on Friday.

A husky is surrounded by the Ortega family as they look into adopting a dog at the Riverside County animal shelter in Jurupa Valley on Friday. Animal Services is waiving all adoption fees for animals from its two shelters indefinitely.