Residents looking for a new pet will be able to adopt cats and dogs for free at St. Clair County animal control next weekend.

The county hasn't been able to participate in an “Empty the Shelter” event before because of county laws that require fees be paid for each adopted animal. But on Saturday, Oct. 14, St. Clair County will be one of 75 communities that the Bissell Pet Foundation will reimburse for adoption fees.

The St. Clair County adoption fee is $120 for a dog and $70 for a cat.

“We’ve got a lot of animals that people would like to get but they can’t afford it,” said Carol Miller, one of the activists who has been pushing for change at the county animal shelter. “It’s just very exciting to see that things are moving forward to make things better.”

Animal Control reformers comfortable with helping

The adoption event is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Plaza Pet Club, 201 N. Riverside Ave., in St. Clair. The business, in Riverview Plaza, is lending its space to animal control.

Undersheriff Tom Buckley credited the help of volunteers and Plaza Pet Club for helping move the event forward.

“I don’t think it was (just) because of the volunteer group or the AC Pawsitive Change group. I think what it did was their assistance helped get it done. It’s something we’ve wanted. We haven’t just had the time and the ability,” he said. “Grant work is simple. But the event is a lot of time and preparation.”

Miller and Buckley said there will be gift bags and some collars and leashes available for pet adopters.

Miller said there was a good group of 50 to 60 volunteers involved.

“A lot of people have come forward to help us. A lot of people have come forward to make blankets for the animals, scarves for the animals,” she said. “It’s going to be fun. That’s the idea is to find the animals their forever home. We’ve got a good base of volunteers so far.”

Though the pet adoptions will be free Oct. 14, dog owners are still required to pay to license for their animal.

Licenses, which can be renewed Dec. 1 through Feb. 28, cost $12 for a sterilized dog and $22 for a non-sterilized dog. Renewals not done in that period are $40. They can be received at St. Clair County’s sheriffs, animal control and treasurer’s offices, as well as local government offices in Port Huron Township, Port Huron, Fort Gratiot, East China Township, Algonac and China Township.

Some members of Miller's group took their issues to the county board in late 2016. One of their priorities was getting more volunteers working closely with animal control..

Board Chairman Jeff Bohm said county officials have visited county animal shelters across the state to observe how other organizations’ animal control or shelter facilities are operated.

The county is also working on putting out a request for proposals for other entities to operate the animal control shelter.

County Administrator Karry Hepting said officials have contacted other governments that work with organizations as as local humane societies that have leased or purchased space for animal shelters. She said the RFP would likely be finalized some time next week and that officials were looking at a date the week of Oct. 23 when prospective entities could walk through animal control.

Bohm said the county is only exploring options should another entity have ways to improve the shelter.

“I think the different programs, like anything, when you’re made of aware of different things out there, it doesn’t just come from these groups,” he said. “I think constant self-improvement. If somebody brought something up at our airport we weren’t doing, we’d spend some time (addressing it). It’s just one of those things.”

Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith.

IF YOU GO

The St. Clair County Sheriff's animal control "Empty the Shelter" event will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, at Plaza Pet Club, 201 N. Riverside Ave., St. Clair.

For more information on the event, visit the event page on Facebook, or visit www.bissellpetfoundation.org/events/empty-the-shelters.