Photo by Eric Keith / St. Joseph News-Press / Purchase this photo

October has been designated Adopt-A-Dog month. This dog at the St. Joseph Animal Shelter was brought back to the shelter less than a year after being placed.

In shelters across the area and the country, dogs wait for someone to take them home.

To help bring attention to their situation, October has been designated Adopt-A-Dog month by American Humane, a national non-profit association championing the rights of children and animals. October also has been dubbed Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog month by the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

No matter what you call it, the goal is the same: to find shelter animals a permanent home.

“We’ve got beagles, bassets, yellow labs, as well as black labs,” said Cindy Nelson, shelter manager at the New Nodaway Humane Society in Maryville, Mo.

Those breeds are just a few of the almost 70 dogs at the shelter, and to mark Adopt-A-Dog month, Ms. Nelson says the shelter is offering dogs and puppies for adoption for $70. That’s $10 off the regular adoption fee (cats got their own adoption special during the recent Adopt-a-Cat month).

Ms. Nelson also said that the shelter does have some sponsored dogs available for adoption. That means someone has already paid part of the adoption fee for that animal.

Adoption also is the goal for the Friends of the Shelter in St. Joseph. Through its adoption previews, volunteers hope to introduce the public to some of the animals available at the St. Joseph Animal Shelter.

“It has increased the adoption rate as high as 75 percent,” said Lucinda Kerns, president of the Friends of the Shelter. “We now have a percentage higher than the standard average in the U.S.”

The city shelter handles at least 3,000 dogs each year, an average of about 250 dogs each month.

“Which means that

unless owners claim their pets or someone adopts one,” said Stephen Norman, senior animal control officer, “the staff have to put down 100 to 150 animals each month. That’s the bad news.”

Kristen Crowley and her sister, Heather Murphy, a Friends volunteer, got on the Friends Web site Sunday and looked at animals. Tuesday, Ms. Crowley drove up from Kansas City to meet Tucker, a 6-month-old boxer mixed breed pup. The two took to each other, and Tucker will get a second chance.

A new owner has to pay between $80 and $110 to adopt a dog, Mr. Norman said. But it’s a good deal because even if you found a free dog in the want ads, it would cost an individual $160 to $170 to meet the minimum requirements for pet ownership. With a shelter animal, the new owner has a variety of veterinarians to choose from and they provide neuter and spay services at a discount, Mr. Norman said.

The Friends of the Shelter’s next adoption preview is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon today at Kovac’s on King Hill Avenue. Those interested in adopting a pet from the preview may do so by visiting the St. Joseph Animal Shelter from 1 to 4:30 p.m. this afternoon.

The Humane Society of Atchison, Kan., will hold a mobile pet adoption event at Petco in St. Joseph on Oct. 18, in conjunction with Adopt-A-Dog month. The adoption will be from 1 to 5 p.m.

“Funds from this event will allow us to continue to offer adoptable pets to those that are unable to come to the shelter,” said Sharon Berry, Humane Society of Atchison development director.

For more information, contact the New Nodaway Humane Society at (660) 582-3333 or www.nodawayhumanesociety.org; Friends of the Shelter (St. Joseph Animal Shelter), 271-4877 or http://www.petforu.com/; and Humane Society of Atchison, Kan., (913) 367-3647 or http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/KS45.html.

Cathy Woolridge can be reached at cathyw@npgco.com. Marshall White contributed to this story. He can be reached at marshall@npgco.com.