High Desert residents can adopt or foster pets at no cost
Victorville, Calif. (High Desert News Online) — For those High Desert residents looking to bring a cat or dog into their lives, the City of Victorville is sponsoring the Kitten and Puppy Palooza on Saturday, Aug. 22, at the Victorville Animal Care and Adoption Center.
The adoption and foster-to-adopt event is free and will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 16648 E St. in Victorville. The event is open to all residents of the High Desert.
This event takes place during the summer season, a busy time for the city when they are trying to find homes and foster homes for kittens, puppies, and other animals that come to their facility.
What comes with the free adoption?
At the Aug. 22 event, the City of Victorville will provide free adoption of animals that are adopted on that day.
Adoptions include:
– Vaccinations
– Microchipping
– Spaying or neutering
– Future spay or neuter arrangements if needed
– One-year free city pet license for eligible Victorville residents
Future spays and neuters are free of charge.
These are some of the things that help reduce the costs of bringing a new pet into the household.
Victorville’s animal services programs currently focus on microchipping and licensing pets in order to increase the chances of returning a lost animal to its family.
Foster-to-adopt option
Another way that residents might be interested in taking an animal in the household on Aug. 22 is foster to adopt.
A foster program gives an animal some time away from the shelter while the adopter is deciding if the pet is the right fit.
Currently, the City of Victorville maintains foster options for animals, both short-term and long-term. They offer foster to adopt, in addition to regular adoptions, as part of their Animal Services program.
Victorville has its own animal shelter
This year marks the beginning of a new era for the animal services of Victorville.
Previously, for more than 20 years, they had contracted out their animal services to the outside company that ran the shelter for them. But in May 2023, Victorville received a notification that their contract for the operation of the animal shelter will not be renewed.
They had to quickly set up their own temporary services in the city building and plan for a permanent facility for sheltering and caring for the animals.
As a result, in December 2024, they opened their Victorville Animal Care and Adoption Center at the former Goodwill High School building in Old Town Victorville.
It is about 15,000 square feet facility and is the first city-run animal care and adoption center in Victorville.
At the time of opening, the first phase of the facility had been designed to accommodate at least 135 dogs, 40 cats and reptiles, and there were plans to add about 200 additional kennels and outdoor exercise areas.
Besides housing the animals, the center also offers adoption and fostering services for the pets. Additionally, it helps pet reunification, licensing, microchipping, education, and other animal-care programs.
Hundreds of animals have found homes in 2024-2025
Victorville taking their animal services in-house has also increased adoption events.
As of December 2024, they reported 908 animals adopted since they took care of the animals.
During this period, 148 animals were transferred to 23 rescue organizations or foster homes, 383 lost pets were returned to their owners, and over 3,300 animals were microchipped.
They also reported over 2,000 free dog licenses issued in that time.
Continued adoption and health events in 2026
Victorville keeps hosting adoption and animal-health events in 2026.
On June 13, the city hosted a low-cost vaccination clinic and adoption event at their E Street facility. There they offered vaccinations at reduced prices, and animals available through the shelter could be adopted without adoption fee. Such adoptions also include vaccinations, microchipping and spaying or neutering.
The city continues to encourage residents to foster animals if they do not feel ready to adopt them.
Introducing new online pet licensing system this summer
In July 2026, Victorville introduced a new online pet licensing system using DocuPet.
It allows the residents to manage qualifying pet licenses online and get access to 24-hour lost-pet recovery service for their registered animals.
Such licensing changes allow for easier identification of the pet and its owner and help reunite lost pets with their families.
Microchips serve the same purpose. In contrast to a collar or a tag that can easily come off, a microchip is a permanent source of identification for your animal. All the shelters and veterinarians can scan a microchip and help return the lost animal to its owner.
Importance of adoption events
Large adoption events allow shelters to have room for new animals and to keep their current ones for shorter period of time.
For the adopters, adoption events reduce the initial cost of pet ownership, as long as vaccinations, microchipping and sterilization are included.
But adopting an animal remains a long-term commitment. It is necessary to consider the costs of feeding, vet visits, pet licensing, grooming, training, and potentially emergency treatment before bringing a pet home.
Additionally, the families need to think about the expected size of the animal, its exercise needs, temperament and compatibility with other family members or animals.
For those who do not feel ready to take a permanent commitment, it is possible to talk to the Animal Services about fostering and foster to adopt.
Information about Kitten and Puppy Palooza
Date: Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026
Time: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Location: Victorville Animal Care and Adoption Center
Address: 16648 E St., Victorville
Admission: Free
Adoption fees: Waived during the event
Who can participate: Residents of the High Desert
Event type: Adoption and foster-to-adopt
Adoptions at the event include vaccinations and microchipping. Animals will be either spayed or neutered before adoption, or arrangements will be made to do it after the adoption at no cost.
Eligible Victorville residents will also get one-year free city pet license with adoption.
For further information about the Kitten and Puppy Palooza, available animals, fostering or any other animal services, please contact City of Victorville Animal Services at (760) 955-5089.
Victorville Animal Care and Adoption Center is located at 16648 E St. in Old Town Victorville. Officially, the regular city information states that the center’s working hours are Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Adoption hours are separately listed.
