IRVINE — The Irvine Animal Care Center will waive adoption fees on its longest-resident pets throughout August as part of Clear the Shelters, a nationwide campaign sponsored by NBCUniversal and Telemundo, the City of Irvine announced Monday.
The center, located at 6443 Oak Canyon Road, is marking eligible animals with a purple icon on kennel cards. Community members can visit in person during adoption hours or browse pets online at irvineanimals.org/adopt.
Clear the Shelters is entering its 12th year. Since launching in 2015, the campaign has driven more than 1.3 million pet adoptions and raised over $5.6 million for participating shelters and rescues nationwide. Last year’s campaign alone included more than 1,700 shelters across 49 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, and Guam, resulting in over 160,000 adoptions and $628,000 in donations — the highest fundraising total since 2020.
“Clear The Shelters continues to have such an incredible impact on communities thanks to all those who come together each August to help vulnerable pets and support the animal shelters who care for them,” said Meredith McGinn, NBCUniversal Local’s executive vice president of diginets and original production.
The campaign traces back to a 2014 pet adoption event in North Texas hosted by NBC 5/KXAS and Telemundo 39/KXTX. It expanded nationally the following year and now runs from Aug. 1-31, with the fundraising window open longer, from mid-July through mid-September.
Irvine’s shelter is a no-kill facility on 3.73 acres, opened in 1982 after the Irvine Company donated the site. It runs a Third Chance for Pets program that transfers animals from overcrowded Southern California shelters, and a Seniors Helping Seniors program offering free adoptions of senior pets to adopters 62 and older.
The Clear the Shelters push comes as the center also gears up for its annual Photo Fundraiser, also running Aug. 1-31, inviting the community to submit pet photos for a chance to appear in the 2027 IACC calendar.
For more information, call 949-724-7740 or visit irvineanimals.org.
