When Emma adopted her dog, she started to cry. She and Mike lined up outside the Washington Humane Society-Washington Animal Rescue League at 11 p.m. Friday so they could take the dog home without waiting in the heat.
Emma said she was crying "because I helped her."
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Lauren Lipsey, the director of rehoming for the Washington Humane Society, said seeing Emma's emotion at adopting Sarah was her favorite part of Clear the Shelters day, when adopton fees were waived at more than 30 D.C.-area shelters.
"It's just why we do all of this," she said with tears in her eyes. "So it was amazing."
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The excitement showed in Emma's new dog, Sarah. Sarah, a large, skinny dog spotted black and brown, raced out of the shelter with her tail wagging. She jumped up to greet people and sniffed all around her.
"She adopted a true companion," Lipsey said.
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NBC owned stations and Telemundo stations teamed up with shelters across the D.C. area, and across the country, for the second annual Clear the Shelters event Saturday.
On Saturday, more than 1,400 pets -- including dogs and cats, of course, but also chickens, parakeets, rabbits and an iguana -- had found their forever homes. Throughout all of July, Clear the Shelters helped find homes for more 3,770 pets in the D.C. and Baltimore areas.
"Empty cages! *Happy, happy tears*," posted the BARCS animal shelter in Baltimore late Saturday. "All of these doggies found homes today during Clear the Shelters!"
BARCS said it had done 37 adoptions and another 35 were pending, with the animals waiting for spaying or neutering or on "stray hold," waiting to make sure that they weren't just lost.
Many shelters offered discounts or waived adoption fees for the event. For instance, the Washington Humane Society-Washington Animal Rescue League (WHS-WARL) waived adoption fees for Clear the Shelters, and each pet is already spayed or neutered.
Dozens of people lined up outside WHS-WARL Saturday. Among them were the future owners of Deputy, an 11-month-old mutt.
Deputy's new mom said she brought her two kids to the shelter yesterday and felt a connection right away. She said she told herself, "We'll be back to get him for sure."
Deputy's new dad carried him out of the shelter, and their son, Mateo, urged them to take him to his new home.
"He's hot," he said.
A corgi named Travis was the first pet to go to his new home from WHS-WARL. Travis' new owner said he chose the dog because his daughter wanted a Corgi.
"Perfect dog," he said. "Pretty coat. Just a healthy dog, so we're happy."
Krystal Gilmore of Northwest D.C. visited WHS-WARL with her mom and adopted a white 2-year-old cat named Paula.
"We've been looking for a cat for some time, and it was kind of like our spirits just clicked," she said. "...We saw Paula and we fell in love with her."
Gilmore already has an 8-year-old Yorkie named Stallion. So far, they seem to be getting along well, she said by phone later Saturday.
"They both look like they're just going to be hanging out, laying out," she said.
Of the 7.6 million animals that enter shelters each year, only 2.7 million are adopted, according to the ASPCA. Clear the Shelters seeks to close that gap by matching animals in these shelters with loving homes.
About 1,200 pets were adopted from the D.C. area on Clear the Shelters Day in 2015.
Even if you couldn't adopt a pet Saturday, you can go back to the shelter and find a variety of pets available. Lipsey said the shelter gets more than 35 animals per day on average, so there will be plenty of furry friends to choose from.
"We are never at a lack of animals," she said.
If you already have a pet but need some guidance, the Washington Humane Society-Washington Animal Rescue League's website can be a helpful resource, and you can reach out to them if you need information or advice.
"I want people to know that we are a resource, even after adoption," Lipsey said. "Even if you haven't adopted from us, we are a resource to pet owners in the community."
See all local participating shelters below; the last closes at 7 p.m.:
Animal Welfare League of Alexandria
4101 Eisenhower Ave., Alexandria, Virginia 22304
703-746-4774
Hours: 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Animal Welfare League of Arlington
2650 S. Arlington Mill Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22206
703-931-9241
Hours: 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Animal Welfare Society of Howard County, Inc.
8556 Davis Road, Columbia, MD 21045
410-465-4350
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Baltimore County Animal Services
13800 Manor Road, Baldwin, Maryland 21013
410-887-7297
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Baltimore Humane Society
1601 Nicodemus Road, Reisterstown, Maryland 21136
410-833-8848
Hours: 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
BARCS Animal Shelter
301 Stockholm St., Baltimore, Maryland 21230
410-396-4695
Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Baywater Animal Rescue
4930 Bucktown Road, Cambridge, Maryland 21613
410-228-3090
Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
City of Manassas Animal Shelter
10039 Dean Drive, Manassas, Virginia 20110
703-257-2420
Hours: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Fairfax County Animal Shelter
4500 West Ox Road, Fairfax, Virginia 22030
703-830-1100
Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Fancy Cats Rescue Team (multiple locations)
6349 A Columbia Pike, Falls Church, Virginia 20151
12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
703-750-6675
(Cats only)
12971 Fair Lakes Parkway, Fairfax, Virginia 22033
12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
703-802-1027
(Cats only)
24570 Dulles Landing Drive, Dulles, Virginia 20166
11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
571-367-3021
(Cats only)
13866 Metrotech Drive, Chantilly, Virginia 20151
12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
(703) 378-1295
(Cats only)
6536 Frontier Drive, Springfield, Virginia 22150
12:30-4:30pm
(703) 922-4993
(Cats only)
Fredericksburg SPCA
10819 Courthouse Road, Fredericksburg, Virginia 22408
540-898-1500
Hours: 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Homeward Trails Animal Rescue
11118 Fairfax Station Road, Fairfax Station, Virginia 22039
703-249-5066
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
(Dogs only)
Humane Society of Calvert County
2210 Dalrynple Road, Sunderland, Maryland 20689
410-257-4908
Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Humane Society of Charles County
71 Industrial Park Drive, Waldorf, MD 20604
(301) 645-8181
Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
(Adoption fees waived for cats and kittens only)
Humane Society of Harford County
2208 Connolly Road, Fallston, Maryland 21047
410-836-1090
Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Humane Society of Warren County
1245 Progress Drive, Front Royal, Virginia 22630
540-635-4734
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Humane Society of Washington County
13011 Maugansville Road, Hagerstown, Maryland 21740
301-733-2060
Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Loudoun County Animal Services
39820 Charles Town Pike, Waterford, Virginia 20197
703-777-0406
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Maryland SPCA
3300 Falls Road, Baltimore, Maryland 21211
410-235-8826
Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center
7315 Muncaster Mill Road, Derwood, Maryland 20855
240-773-5900
Hours: 11 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Prince George's County Animal Management Division
3750 Brown Station Road, Upper Marlboro, Maryland 20772
301-780-7200
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Prince William County Animal Shelter
14807 Bristow Road, Manassas, Virginia 20112
703-792-6465
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
SPCA of Anne Arundel County
1815 Bay Ridge Ave., Annapolis, Maryland 21403
410-268-4388
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
SPCA Rockaplenty Adoption Center
111 Featherbed Lane, Winchester, Virginia 22601
540-662-8616
Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Spotsylvania Animal Shelter
450 TV Drive Fredericksburg, Virginia 22408
540-507-7459
Hours: 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Across the country last year, 20 shelters were cleared of all of their adoptable dogs.
Photo Credit: Washington Humane Society-Washington Animal Rescue League
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