Weathering below-freezing temperatures, about 40 people lined up outside the Denton Animal Shelter Saturday morning in hopes of adopting a free pet.

DRC/Gary Payne

Lorie Smith and her mother, Caroljean Howdeshell, pet a German shepherd they were considering adopting at the Denton Animal Shelter on Saturday. They decided not to get the dog, which was adopted about 20 minutes later.

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The first 10 dogs or cats adopted at the shelter were free, thanks to waived adoption fees from a national campaign — Change a Pet’s Life Day.

The shelter opened at 10 a.m., but some would-be pet owners arrived more than two hours before the kennel opened to ensure they took home their free pet, said Woodie Wilson, who heads the city-run shelter.

The turnout was a little overwhelming for the small-staffed shelter, and a police officer was called out to maintain order at the event, Wilson said.

Within 40 minutes of opening, 36 dogs and cats were adopted.

“This is the biggest [turnout] I’ve seen, and I’ve been here five years,” Wilson said. “The most adoptions I’ve ever seen in a day before this was 12 or 15. It may have a lot to do with that we’re giving them away free for the first time.”

Adoptive pet owners usually pay a $120 fee for dogs and $110 for cats to cover veterinary costs, including vaccinations, tests and microchip implantation.

Because of the massive turnout, the city of Denton will pick up the veterinary tab for the 26 additional pets adopted Saturday morning, Wilson said.

“It wasn’t fair to single out 10 people,” he said.

Wilson added that the shelter wasn’t in the business of making money to begin with and really wanted to make sure the pets were taken in by the right families.

Roommates from Cross Roads braved temperatures and started standing in line at 9:30 a.m. Saturday before they found a dachshund puppy to adopt.

“There were many people, but [the shelter] did a good job,” said Brandon Keathley, as his roommate tried to keep the puppy from shivering.

Puppies in the shelter went fast.

Several people didn’t get the dog they wanted and left empty-handed, but for the most part the event was extremely successful, Wilson said.

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Lisa Spagnolo pets a dog Saturday at the Denton Animal Shelter at 300 S. Woodrow Lane.

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The day seemed to follow the traditional hierarchal order of adoption in which puppies get adopted first, before colorful dogs and finally black dogs that often get left behind in kennel shadows, he said.

Dogs with health issues are often unadoptable, he said.

For the rest of the day, the Denton shelter offered half-price adoptions.

By mid-afternoon Saturday, a total of 40 pets were adopted — 31 dogs and nine cats.

Only two dogs remained homeless Saturday afternoon.

A few dogs will be released for adoption this week after a mandatory 96-hour holding period expires, Wilson said.

The dogs and cats at the shelter were either picked up off the street by animal control officers or brought in by residents.

Owners who wait too long to claim their pets risk losing them to adoption or euthanasia, Wilson said.

“We only have X amount of room,” he said.

The 4,000-square-foot facility doesn’t have enough space to house dogs that are unadoptable because of age or health issues, Wilson said.

The Change a Pet’s Life Day promotion, sponsored by Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc. of Topeka, Kan., was positive and accomplished the animal shelter’s goal — getting dogs and cats into good homes, he said.

“It was a very successful event,” Wilson said. “It would have gone even better if it was warmer.”

CANDACE CARLISLE can be reached at 940-566-6889. Her e-mail address is ccarlisle@dentonrc.com.