Max Scherzer donates to help Hurricane Harvey pets

Washington, D.C.’s animal shelters will soon be facing capacity issues as they accept pets displaced by Hurricane Harvey and Max Scherzer is trying to help.

Thousands of dogs and cats from the Houston area were separated from their owners during the storm or were forced from damaged shelters. Now those animals are being moved from temporary shelters to better equipped facilities around the country.

One of the organizations accepting pets from east Texas is the Humane Rescue Alliance in D.C., which already has 100 pets in its two adoption centers and is expected 20 or so cats and dogs from Hurricane-affected areas. As a result, the D.C. shelter has to find homes for as many pets as possible to make room for the Texas animals.

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Scherzer and his wife Erica, who sits on the HRA’s board, are making it easier to place the pets in loving homes by paying all adoption fees from Thursday to Sunday.

“Adoption fees range from $85 up to about $200 depending on the animal and the age of the animal,” Humane Rescue Alliance Chief Operating Officer Stephanie Shain told Fox 5. “But Erica and Max have pledged because they know how important it is we get these kennels empty and they are going to cover those adoption fees.”

This spring, NFL players Torrey Smith and Malik Jackson also picked up the adoption fees at animal shelters. Smith paid to rescue 46 animals, while Jackson’s donation put 181 pets in new homes.