Estrella is a past dog up for adoption at BrightSide Animal Center in Redmond.

Attendees at this year’s Deschutes County Fair will have the opportunity to spend time with some canine compatriots and — if the fit is just right — bring one home with them.

BrightSide Animal Center and the Bend Humane Society will be hosting an adopt-a-pet booth at the Deschutes County Fair from August 3-7 to help bring awareness to the shelters and give attendees an opportunity to meet different kinds of dogs seeking their forever homes.

The booth will act as a kind of meet and greet where people can adopt animals and learn about microchipping and stray animals, according to Pat Bowling, executive director of BrightSide Animal Center in Redmond.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to get back and have people visit with our animals,” she said.

Five or six volunteers will be walking around the fair with an adoptable dog, so people can meet and play with them. there will also be a fenced area where animals can take a break, eat and drink.

Bowling expects audiences to be bowled over by the four-legged fairgoers.

“Shelter dogs are great dogs,” she said.

While adoptions were up during the COVID-19 pandemic, BrightSide is currently seeing a “great increase” in the number of strays and surrendered animals at the shelter, many of which don’t have microchips.

Currently, there are 35 dogs and 67 cats in their program. And, while there will only be dogs at the Deschutes County Fair booth, BrightSide is also looking to home a bunny named Huckleberry and occasionally have rats, chinchillas and ferrets.

Bowling said that at any given time there should be five or six dogs at the booth for people to view and adopt. BrightSide staffed a similar booth a few years ago and it was very successful, Bowling said.

The shelters will also hold a raffle of some kind, although details still need to be hammered out.

BrightSide says they were able to find homes for 98% of the dogs and 96% of the cats they took in last year.