“Summer Ruff-Fresher” First of Three Summer Adoption Events
BOSTON, June 20, 2025 – The MSPCA-Angell and many of its Massachusetts Animal Shelter Support (MASS) coalition partners are waiving adoption fees for all dogs aged one and older from June 23 through June 29, the organizations announced today.
The event—called Summer Ruff-Fresher—is the first of several summer adoptathons planned for the next few months with the theme “America Runs on Doggos”.
“Summer is a great time to adopt, not only because families are together at home to help acclimate a new pet, but also because intake at shelters tends to increase, especially in other parts of the country with higher homeless animal populations, including where some of our transport partners are,” explained Jamie Garabedian, project manager of the MSPCA-Angell’s Animal Protection Division.
“Dog populations increase even more during warm weather for a multitude of reasons, so shelters that are already overcapacity are further strained, and that’s not even taking into account the fact that they’re also more likely to get inundated with animals due to hurricanes and related natural disasters that happen more frequently this time of year,” she elaborated.
The nine participating shelters aim to collectively rehome at least 100 dogs during the week-long adoptathon—something Garabedian says is important to free up space for those animals that will need a place to go in the coming weeks.
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All four MSPCA-Angell shelters—in Boston, Methuen, Salem, and Centerville on Cape Cod—as well as MASS coalition partners Berkshire Humane Society, Worcester Animal Rescue League, Boston Animal Care and Control, and Thomas J. O’Connor Animal Control & Adoption Center are participating, as well as non-coalition partner Animal Protection Center of Southeastern Massachusetts.
“It’s no secret that there’s been a slowdown in dog adoptions, especially of larger dogs, that’s created capacity problems at shelters in Massachusetts and across the country,” Garabedian expounded. “We want to be there for all the animals who need us, but we need to open up shelter space in order to do that.”
“One of the great things about the [MASS] coalition is that we’re able to meet so many more adopters where they are, with shelters across the state participating,” she added. “We’re hoping the community hears our need and comes out to visit a shelter near them.”
Hours vary by location. Interested adopters are encouraged to visit mspca.org/dogs for more details. Information on future summer adoption events will be announced when it is available.
