Thomas Lynn | The Valdosta Daily TimesPaige McCool, 12, plays with puppies at the Clear the Shelter event at the Lowndes County Animal Shelter.

VALDOSTA — Kaitlyn Burnham gravitates to pets that are less likely to be adopted.

Whether a dog has anxiety issues or health problems, Burnham said shelters usually have an abundance of those types of pets, and they are the ones people have trouble taking care of.

During the Lowndes County Animal Services Clear the Shelter event Saturday, she adopted Hogg, a quiet, laid-back basset hound mix.

At the third annual national event, 26 out of 29 dogs and 22 out of 74 cats were taken out of the shelter and placed into their new homes. People lined up Saturday afternoon outside of the shelter, 337 Gil Harbin Industrial Blvd., to get their pick of the litter.

Linda Patelski, director of LCAS, said adoptions during the event are free. Adopting a dog typically costs $125 and cats cost $55, which is 50 percent less than previous adoptions. 

Patelski said there is a cost to spay and neuter the pets, but that cost on this day was not passed on to the news owner.

The event is held in August because that is one of the busiest months for the shelter.

“The shelters are flooded with animals, and it makes it hard to get them adopted because school is coming back, and people are coming off of vacation,” she said. 

Patelski said every person looking to adopt has their driver’s license photographed and information taken down to prevent pets from being bought and sold for nefarious reasons.

All the animals at the shelter are microchipped. If the animal shows up in a place that is inappropriate, she said they can charge the person who adopted the animal with a crime.

“But, usually these are families coming here to adopt,” Patelski said. “If we get a bad vibe about somebody coming in, you can usually tell if their intentions are not good, and we won’t hand the animal over to them.”

Patelski said this year’s event was slightly less successful than previous events, and she attributes that to a few things. 

She said they had 16 dogs placed and 15 dogs handed over to foster homes leading up to the event. There are also other adoption events happening at around the same time, meaning that empty homes are harder to find.

“There are only so many homes,” she said. “But this year’s event went very smoothly and very peacefully, and I think it was a success.”

For anyone interested in adopting their own pet from the shelter, they can visit the shelter at 337 Gil Harbin Industrial Blvd., from noon to 4 p.m., Monday and Saturday and noon to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday.

Thomas Lynn is a government and education reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be reached at (229)244-3400 ext. 1256