The Chenango SPCA currently has 128 cats in their care looking for their forever homes. Now through July 31, adoption fees are discounted to just $50 for dogs and $25 for cats as part of the Bissell Pet Foundation Empty the Shelters event. (Photo by Sarah Genter)

CHENANGO COUNTY — The Chenango SPCA is participating in the Bissell Empty the Shelters program, which provides discounted adoption rates for cats and dogs.

The program began on July 6 and runs through July 31. The Bissell Pet Foundation donates a portion of adoption fees to increase adoption rates at shelters across the country. Now through the end of the month, adoption fees at the Chenango SPCA are $50 for dogs and just $25 for cats.

The shelter currently has 128 cats and 20 dogs looking for their forever homes.

Chenango SPCA Executive Director Patrick McLaughlin said there are several reasons to adopt from a shelter, with the primary reason being "you are genuinely providing a safer and better life to an animal that really needs it."

"Sometimes maybe there’s the perception that shelter animals are going to come with the animal equivalent, I guess, of emotional baggage. I understand that," he added. "But what we call emotional baggage, or just the animal having a personal history, to me is one of the things that means this individual animal already has a story, and that story may have been sad up to now. Wouldn't it be great to be the person who gives them a happy ending?"