If you’ve been waiting to adopt a dog or were unsure if a dog is for you, this may be the time to find out.

Running the entire month of October, the Kern County Animal Control Department is sponsoring Adopt-a-Dog Month. According to Animal Control staff, there are plenty of dogs to choose from.

“Currently we have 132 adoptable dogs here at the shelter,” said Guy Shaw, director of the Kern County Animal Control Department. “On average, we take in about 90 dogs a day which we only have to hold for 72 hours before we make the decision on whether or not they’re adoptable.”

The normal adoption fee is $75 dollars, which includes the Kern County license, spay and neuter, vaccinations and adoption fee. During the month of October however, that fee will be lowered to $55 dollars and will cover all of the same services. Dogs under four months of age will only be $40 dollars to adopt.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for people to come and get a new family member,” said Carol Stints, a Bakersfield resident who was waiting for the shelter to open. “I love dogs, and I might just decide to adopt in a few days, especially with the reduced fees.”

As an added incentive to adopt dogs during the month of October, the Friends of the Kern County Animal Shelters Foundation is offering a $10 dollar voucher to be applied toward the adoption fee or a microchip to the first 50 adoptions.

“I recommend using the voucher toward the microchip process,” Shaw said. “That way you have that added security in case the animal is lost.” The $10 dollar voucher would make the microchip implantation a $5 dollar procedure.

The Animal Control Department is hoping that lowering the price of adoption will encourage Kern County residents to look to the shelter before buying their pets from pet stores or from unknown breeders.

“During these tough economic times, we hope that our special adoption promotion will continue to encourage people to make adoption their first option,” said Maggie Kalar, marketing and promotions associate for the Animal Control Department. “Thanks to our foundation, we’re able to offer some great discounts this month and we encourage anyone searching for their new best friend to stop by for a visit.”

For more information on adopting an animal, residents can log onto www.co.kern.ca.us/acd, or call the Kern County Adoption Center at 868-7144 in Bakersfield, 824-1030 in Mojave or 760-378-1131 in Lake Isabella.