MA Animal Shelter Support Coalition Marks 1 Year With Fee-Free Pet Adoptions

SALEM, MA — The MPCA-Angell, Northeast Animal Shelter of Salem and their Massachusetts Animal Shelter Support coalition partners are marking the one-year anniversary of the coalition with two fee-free adoption events over the next week.

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"Purr-Over Brews" is being held Friday and Saturday. Fees will be waived for cats that generally stay in shelters longer, including older felines and those with particular medical or behavioral needs. All four MSPCA-Angell shelters—in Boston, Methuen, Salem, and Centerville on Cape Cod — as well as coalition partners Berkshire Humane, Worcester Animal Rescue League, and Thomas J. O'Connor Animal Control will be waiving fees.

The second — called "Droolatta" —begins July 21 and runs through July 27, although hours vary by location. Fees will be waived for all dogs aged one and older — including many of the newly arrived dogs from Texas. All four MSPCA-Angell shelters are participating, as well as Animal Protection Center of Southeastern Massachusetts, Berkshire Humane, Boston Animal Control, Baypath Humane Society, TJO, and WARL.

"We formed this coalition last summer because we saw that the animal welfare industry was still struggling to manage problems that started in the pandemic, including an increase in the number of dogs entering shelters and staying there longer," said Vice President of the MSPCA-Angell’s Animal Protection Division Mike Keiley. "We’re more capable of addressing these huge problems if we team up.

"An obvious starting point was working together to find homes for dogs faster, and one of the ways we've done that is holding fee-waived adoption events throughout the year that have been hugely successful."

Keiley said 740 dogs and nearly 200 cats have been adopted through special MASS coalition adoption events since its formation in July 2024.

"Fee-waived events are one of the ways we're helping to increase adoptions, but the coalition is so much more than that," Keiley said. "It's a full-spectrum approach that includes resource sharing between the groups."

One of those partner communities is Springfield, which experienced an increase in the number of homeless cats and dogs, as well as a significant jump in community disease outbreaks with illnesses like Parvovirus and Panleukopenia that can easily be vaccinated against. These challenges were compounded by a lack of affordable veterinary care in the area.

“There are great organizations like Dakin and TJO that are trying to tackle these kinds of issues, but they don't have the resources to do it alone," said Keiley. "So, we wanted to join in because we can accomplish a lot more when we team up."

In the coalition’s first year, the MSPCA-Angell created a special partnership with the Worcester Animal Rescue League (WARL).

“WARL is the main resource for animals in need in Worcester — the second largest city in Massachusetts — so they found themselves caring for more than staff were able to handle," Keiley said. "They had to shut down intake last fall and needed to rework operations before they’d be able to safely resume."

Through the coalition, the MSPCA-Angell helped WARL improve operations, define a clear capacity for care, and reduce animal length of stay.

"Now, thanks to our expertise and the commitment of WARL's staff, they're open for walk-in adoptions again for the first time since the pandemic, and they’ll soon also resume animal intake."

More information on the adoption events may be found here.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)