Fort Worth’s Henry’s Animal Campus will waive every adoption fee on Saturday starting at 9 a.m., as the shelter throws open its doors for the national Clear the Shelters campaign. NBC 5 / Telemundo 39 staff, including anchor Brian Curtis, will be on hand to meet the public, and organizers say the day will include fun giveaways and free parking for anyone who stops by.
The event is part of a campaign that, according to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, runs through August 31 and spans roughly 60 local shelters. Fort Worth’s Animal Care and Control operates Henry’s Animal Campus, located at 351 Hillshire Dr. in Fort Worth, and the department maintains its own listings of animals currently available there. Nationally, Clear the Shelters has grown into a massive undertaking since it launched in 2015 — as reported by NBCUniversal News Group, the campaign has driven more than 1.3 million pet adoptions and raised over $5.6 million for participating shelters since its inception, with the effort actually originating in North Texas before expanding coast to coast.
Free Fees, Full Medical Coverage
Outside events like this one, Fort Worth Animal Care & Control normally charges $49 to adopt a dog and $25 for a cat, fees that cover spay/neuter surgery, microchipping, vaccinations, heartworm testing, and a city license, per Adopt a Pet. That means Saturday’s adopters still walk away with the same medical workups and legal paperwork — just without paying for any of it. Backing the event financially and logistically, Hill’s Pet Nutrition returned for a ninth year as the national campaign’s presenting sponsor to supply adoption kits, while Greater Good Charities is managing online fundraising and WeRescue is providing virtual pet search tools, the same NBCUniversal News Group release notes.
The name on the building carries its own weight for Fort Worth residents. Fort Worth City Council voted in January to rename the former North Animal Campus to Henry’s Animal Campus, honoring Henry, the city’s longtime canine ambassador who died in 2025 at age 16 after helping raise $4.8 million for local animal welfare over a 13-year tenure. Henry was originally rescued as a sick stray by animal control back in 2011 before becoming the city’s official K9 ambassador.
A Shelter Under Pressure, With New Tools to Cope
Saturday’s giveaway lands during what Hoodline has previously reported is a stretch of peak intake pressure for North Texas shelters. Fort Worth Animal Care & Control posted an 85.47 percent live release rate in Fiscal Year 2025, up from 79.77 percent the year before, even while handling a daily average of 38 dogs coming through the door. That progress has come alongside a broader push to prevent animals from arriving at the shelter in the first place. In July, the department rolled out its mobile Chip & Snip Community Pet Clinic, bringing free spay/neuter, microchipping, and vaccination services directly into high-need neighborhoods, according to CultureMap Fort Worth — a program that followed more than 5,335 spay/neuter surgeries the shelter had already performed this fiscal year…