clear the shelters

At-Risk Dogs and Cats to Be Flown to N.J., Mass. to Kick Off Clear The Shelters Campaign

The mission is scheduled to mark the opening day of NBCUniversal Local’s monthlong 2021 Clear The Shelters campaign

From left: Shelby, Cinderella and Claire are just a few of the animals waiting for their furrever home.

NBCUniversal Local, Greater Good Charities, The Animal Rescue Site and Hill's Pet Nutrition are partnering on a special life-saving pet airlift for more than 150 at-risk dogs and cats from New Orleans to Morristown, N.J., and New Bedford, Mass., on Aug. 23 to coincide with the launch of Clear The Shelters, NBCUniversal Local’s annual pet adoption and donation campaign.

Animals will be transported from several overpopulated shelters in Louisiana, including some of the most vulnerable pets, like asymptomatic heartworm-positive shelter dogs, harder-to-place large dogs and homeless cats. Dogs will be received in New Jersey by St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center, and cats will be received by the Northeast Animal Shelter and the MSPCA-Angell in Massachusetts. Once at the receiving facilities, the dogs and cats will be given medical treatment, if necessary, and then be adopted into their forever homes.

The special airlift, part of Greater Good Charities’ Good Flights program and funded by Hill’s Pet Nutrition, will consist of two chartered planes. The planes are scheduled to depart simultaneously from New Orleans Lakefront Airport at approximately 6 a.m. CT. Dogs are expected to arrive at Morristown Airport at approximately 11:15 a.m. ET, and cats are scheduled to arrive at the New Bedford Regional Airport at approximately 1 p.m. ET.

The mission is scheduled to mark the opening day of NBCUniversal Local’s monthlong 2021 Clear The Shelters campaign, which runs through Sept. 19. As part of the initiative, now in its seventh year, NBC and Telemundo owned and affiliated stations across the nation partner with local animal shelters and rescue services to promote pet adoption and raise much-needed funds. Since its inception in 2015, Clear The Shelters has helped more than half a million pets find new homes.

National nonprofit Greater Good Charities is the fundraising partner for Clear The Shelters, which will again feature online donations. Through Good Flights, Greater Good Charities conducts life-saving airlifts and supports ground transport for at-risk pets to provide a second chance at life. For more than 13 years, Greater Good Charities has operated shelter programs, funded medical care for pets and executed the single largest shelter pet airlift in history.

Hill's Pet Nutrition is serving as the national sponsor of Clear The Shelters for the fourth consecutive year. Hill’s also supports shelter pets year-round through its Food, Shelter & Love program, which provides nutrition to more than 800 shelters in the U.S. and Canada, and has helped more than 12 million pets find new homes since 2002.

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