BURGAW -- More than sixty furry friends are in need of forever homes and that is why the Pender County Animal Shelter is hosting its first ever ‘Home for the Holidays’ pet event.

Workers tell us they’ve had more than 100 pets surrendered in the past two months.

The doors opened Monday at 11 a.m., but staff say people lined up as early at 8:00 a.m. waiting to get their hands on one of the pets.

Wilmington resident Samantha Renner is looking for a cat to bring home but is also urging others to save a life and give an animal a home.  

"They don't know that warm, loving, feeling of having a family and that’s why I want to get one today. And that’s my biggest motivation. They don’t have a home and I want to give them one,” says Renner.

In addition to waiving the usual 75 dollar adoption fee, the shelter is make sure all pets are spayed, neutered and microchipped before heading to their forever homes.

“They can’t save themselves, so we need to help. Everything that we can,” says Renner.

The event will continue up to Tuesday from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. For more information about the event, check out the shelter's Facebook page.