Every year, approximately 7.6 million pets are abandoned and enter animal shelters nationwide. What these animals really want is for somebody to bring them to a nice home and care for them.

If you go to Humane Society of the North Bay or any other Bay Area shelter this Saturday, you will have a chance to give a furry friend a loving home for only $10.

For the second year in a row, NBCUniversal will be partnering with humane animal shelters across the country for its Clear the Shelters event. In the San Francisco region alone, NBC Bay Area and Telemundo 48 have partnered with 38 local animal welfare agencies, including Humane Society of the North Bay in Vallejo.

This is the second year that HSNB has participated in Clear the Shelters, which communications coordinator and board member Lisa Nicole Szucs says was very good for the organization.

“Last year, we had a historic number of adoptions for our shelter,” she said. “We adopted out 44 animals in just that one weekend. We only have 20 dog kennels on the floor, and we emptied them all and adopted out all the dogs, including senior dogs and other dogs that would not be considered adoptable.”

Szucs also noted that nearly 20,000 animals across the country were adopted out at last year’s Clear the Shelters event.

This year, HSNB has a number of adoptable animals available. One of them is Duchess, a 2-year-old pit bull, who Szucs says is “addicted to water” and loves to splash around in the shelter’s kiddie pool all day.

“Some of our volunteers have actually taken her out to the waterfront in Benicia, and she will just swim for hours,” Szucs said.

Also available is Serena, a 2-year-old Labrador and pit bull mix who Szucs says has become the shelter’s “therapy dog.”

“She has the ability to bring other dogs out of their shells,” she said. “When a new animal comes in to the shelter, they are typically very scared.”

Notably, Serena was able to make another dog named Iris feel welcomed, causing Iris to become more friendly and playful as a result.

Young animals are not the only ones available, as there are plenty of senior pets available as well, including an 18-year-old domestic longhair cat named Jeremiah.

“We’re hoping to get him adopted,” Szucs said.

Szucs is excited about HSNB taking part in Clear the Shelters, especially after last year’s success.

“There’s something about Clear the Shelters that brings out people who really want to add a second companion animal to their family, and that’s what we found last year,” she said. “We found the greatest families coming out to meet the pets that they wanted. People weren’t coming out just to get animals at a low cost, they were really coming out to fill a companion animal in their family.”

And building families, Szucs says, is what HSNB and other nonprofit animal organizations are all about.

“Pets are a part of our families,” she said. “They’re actual family members. When somebody comes to the shelter to adopt a pet who has lost their family or been abandoned or surrendered, it’s a win-win because you’re giving them a brand new family and a second chance at life. At the same time, you’re bringing a new family member on board to yours. It’s a really beautiful thing.”

Clear the Shelters will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, July 23 at Humane Society of the North Bay, located at 1121 Sonoma Blvd. in Vallejo. All dogs and cats are $10. People who adopt are encouraged to post pictures of their new animal friends on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #cleartheshelters.

For more information, visit cleartheshelters.com or call HSNB at 645-7905.