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Donor uses Dogecoin to pay for Florida animal shelter's adoption fees

The shelter says it will waive the fees for adoptions of any dogs in the kennel at the time of the donation.
Credit: 10 Tampa Bay

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Some pet parents adopting dogs in Volusia County won't have to pay the fees that come with them. And it's all thanks to a very generous donor -- and some cryptocurrency.

In a Facebook post over the weekend, Halifax Humane Society in Daytona Beach said the donor, referred to as "Doge Community," paid the adoption fees for all of the dogs that were available at the time of the donation.

Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency based on the "Doge" meme featuring the face of a Shiba Inu dog. Created as a joke in 2013, the cryptocurrency had never hit $0.01 until Jan. 2 of this year. Since then, it has skyrocketed and the price has soared more than 400% in the past week alone. 

RELATED: Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency created as a joke, soars 400% in past week

This donation is a huge saving for future pet parents. Halifax Humane Society says most dogs five years and younger normally have a $70 adoption fee. Most older dogs come with a $35 fee.

The donation also comes as fewer people adopt dogs during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to data from PetPoint, dog adoptions from shelters dropped by 19% from October 2019 to October 2020. Some shelters have reported being filled to capacity with rescue animals and those turned in because their owners could no longer care for them.

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