PRINCE FREDERICK — Older dogs and cats at Calvert County’s animal shelter will go home for free this month. The Linda L. Kelley Animal Shelter is waiving adoption fees for every pet 8 years and older from Wednesday, Nov. 4, through Saturday, Nov. 28, Calvert County Government announced.
The promotion, called “Thanks for Giving Me a Home,” targets the animals that typically wait longest for adopters. For a family taking home a senior dog, it saves the shelter’s standard $75 fee; for a senior cat, $40, according to the shelter’s posted fee schedule.
The fee waiver does not change what comes with the animal. Every adoption, including a free one, covers spay or neuter surgery, microchipping, age-appropriate vaccinations and a starter care package, the county said.
Why senior pets
Older shelter animals often get passed over for puppies and kittens, even though many come already house-trained, calmer and with personalities that are easy to read. November is widely promoted by national animal welfare groups as Adopt a Senior Pet Month, and Calvert’s shelter has timed its Thanksgiving-season promotion to match.
The shelter ran a similar Thanksgiving promotion last November, the Chronicle reported, and has leaned on fee waivers through 2026 to move animals out. It waived fees in August, days after a large animal control case pushed it to ask the public for urgent help. In October it brought back its “Ghouls Just Wanna Have Homes” promotion.
Space remains tight. Late last month the Chronicle’s Local Animal feature found the shelter full. Each adoption opens a kennel for the next stray or surrendered animal that comes through the door.
More than dogs and cats
The fee waiver applies only to pets 8 and older, but the shelter has animals of all ages available, including dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, roosters and pigs, the county said. Standard fees for younger animals stay in place: $10 for small animals, $25 for livestock and $5 for poultry.
How to adopt
Free does not mean automatic. Adopters still go through the shelter’s normal screening. Under the shelter’s posted rules, adopters must be at least 18 with a valid government-issued photo ID, have landlord or property owner approval if they rent, and have no history of animal cruelty. They must also complete a pre-screening questionnaire for a cat, dog or exotic animal before meeting a pet outside its kennel. Filling out the form does not hold an animal.
The shelter, at 5055 Hallowing Point Road in Prince Frederick, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. To schedule an appointment, call 410-535-7387. Adoptable animals are listed at CalvertCountyAnimalShelter.com.
The promotion ends Saturday, Nov. 28, two days after Thanksgiving.
