BATON ROUGE- Shelters all across the country have been dealing with a decrease in adoption rates, but still having the same flow of intake. So, to free up space for new shelter pets, Companion Animal Alliance hosted a free pet adoption day.

With the shelter taking in more than nine thousand animals a year, they reached full capacity and had no room for any more pets. To fix that, some people walked out with a new member of the family today.

Pit-bull lover Clinton Thomas added Pinky to his family. One, to give his other dog a friend, but also because he says the two relate.

"Cause a lot of people look at them as if they're such a bad dog, and I feel like it relates to the young black people in the community," Thomas said. "They look at them like they're never going to be anything or they're always gonna end up in jail, or this and that, and I don't like the way people look at it. So that's why I get pit-bulls."

CAA is also allowing temporary foster homes for their pets. They ask families to foster their dogs for a week or two to give them a break from the shelter, and to learn more about the animals and how they act in different environments.

If you're not ready to adopt a pet yet, there are other ways to help provide for these pets. You can find the shelter's Amazon wishlist and donation link at caabr.org.