NBC's Clear the Shelters Spurs 70,000 Pet Adoptions

More than 70,000 homeless pets—from dogs and cats to pigs and horses—have new families thanks to the NBC and Telemundo owned stations’ annual Clear the Shelters initiative, which formally wrapped up on Saturday.

The month-long animal adoption effort involved more than 75 O&Os and affiliates, as well as nearly 1,000 animal shelters (roughly 30% more than last year) and sponsors including Petco and VIP Petcare, according to the NBC station group.

In San Diego, two rabbits were among the adoptees. Goats, pigs and horses found homes in Massachusetts. In New Jersey, a man with a heart murmur adopted a Chihuahua who also has the condition.

As of Tuesday morning, the number of adoptions, being tallied on the station group’s adoption tracker, were still growing. Clear the Shelters has led to 143,000-plus pet adoptions since its launch in 2015, NBC said.