JESSAMINE COUNTY, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — All 34 dogs at Jessamine County Animal Care and Control are available for adoption with no fees, after sponsors covered the $127 adoption fee for every dog at the shelter — with an anonymous donor contributing a majority of the funding.
The shelter is at capacity with no open kennels, but all 34 dogs are fully vetted, microchipped, and ready for adoption.
"It's all over Facebook. We've got a lot of phone calls and a lot of inquiries and a lot of praise for her," shelter staff member Marcie Pendleberry said.
The donor who contributed the majority of the funding chose to remain anonymous.
"She just wanted to get the word out. She just wanted to do what she could. She knew what situation we're in," Pendleberry said.
Shelter staff said the dogs are completely prepared to go home with their new families.
"They are completely vetted when they walk out of this building — microchip — so I mean for the $127 that you're not going to have to pay right now, you're getting a bargain," a shelter staff member said.
The director said the economy has slowed adoptions, leaving dogs waiting longer than usual.
"They have sat here for longer than they ever have before. I mean, it used to be 30 days we'd get one out. Now, they're just sitting," the director said.
"I don't know if it's worth watching them go crazy in a kennel or actually watching them adjust to living this way," the director added.
LEX News' team was there to witness the first adoption made possible by the sponsorship — a dog named Rosie.
"No matter how much I like them, love one of them... I'm glad to see it go, because I know it's going to a home," Pendleberry said.
The shelter's adoption trailer will be set up on Saturday at the Nicholasville Police Department Car Show and Festival at East Jessamine High School from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
