The Bissell Pet Foundation will sponsor an adoption event from May 1 to May 17, waiving all adoption fees for available animals. The foundation will pay the adoption fee for each animal, and adoptions include spay or neuter surgery, a microchip, vaccines, and a license. Residents of Pinal County will be required to pay a $15 fee for the license.
This event aims to encourage more people in the community to adopt pets by removing financial barriers. The waived fees are intended to make it easier for families and individuals to welcome new pets into their homes.
All adopted animals during this period will receive necessary medical care and licensing as part of the process. According to organizers, “Bissell pays the adoption fee for all of our available fur babies, so come and see us to find your forever friend! Adoptions include spay/neuter, a microchip, vaccines, and a license. A $15 fee will be collected for the license if you live in Pinal County.” They also said that anyone interested can visit during the event dates.
While this initiative focuses on animal welfare in Pinal County, recent data shows challenges facing local students in education performance. In Pinal County, 76.3% of students in grades 3 through 8 failed the mathematics section of the 2022-23 school year AASA according to Arizona Department of Education. Additionally, 81% of high schoolers did not pass the mathematics section of the ACT during that same year as reported by Arizona Department of Education. English proficiency scores were also low: 69.7% failure among grades 3 through 8 on AASA according to Arizona Department of Education, and a failure rate of 73% among high schoolers on ACT as reported by Arizona Department of Education.
Recent improvements have been noted; Pinal County saw that 17% of its high schoolers passed mathematics on ACT tests during the current academic year according to Arizona Department of Education, while about one-quarter (23%) of third through eighth graders passed math sections on AASA exams as reported by Arizona Department of Education.
Organizers hope that events like these not only help animals but also foster greater community engagement overall.
