The Elizabethton/Carter County Animal Shelter is preparing to host a Valentine’s Day adoption event, in an effort to find future pet owners their special someone.

Paulette Walton with the Friends of the Shelter said the adoption event is part of the shelter’s ongoing efforts to help their resident animals find homes, especially as March is just around the corner.

“March is the season for puppies and kittens,” Walton said. “We are expecting an influx.”

The shelter often runs near or at capacity on many occasions throughout the year, further highlighting the need for more adoptions.

The three-day event will start on Valentine’s Day next Thursday and run through the rest of the weekend.

“If they are not adopted, there is no space for other animals,” she said.

This is especially important, she said, because some animals stay at the shelter for a while before finding a home.

“We have a few animals that have been there for a year or more,” she said. “This is an opportunity for people to come and see them.”

The event will also help to encourage people to volunteer at the shelter, who she said always needs help in some capacity.

“It is always rewarding,” Walton said. “You get back what you give.”

This spirit of volunteerism extends to the employees and Friends themselves. Walton took home a kitten who had ammonia back in November because there was little room for him at the shelter. Almost three months later, Colt is doing much better, running around with energy he would not have at the shelter.

“He is doing pretty great,” she said. “He plays a lot, maybe making up for lost time when he could not breathe.”

She said this kind of work, supporting it and being part of it “in any way,” is a big help to the shelter’s operations.

“There are other ways to help,” Walton said.

Volunteers can come to help with just about anything, including cleaning, walking or even just sitting down and spending time with the animals.

Walton said adoption fees during the event will be $10 for spayed/neutered animals and $25 for all others. She said some animals will be sponsored by donors for adoption.