Meet Max: He is a Brittany Spaniel-Beagle mix on a mission to find rescue dogs, like himself, a loving forever home.

NBC4 Today Weekend Anchor Hattie Hawks and her husband adopted Max from a small Central Ohio rescue called Pets Without Parents. Every week, Max and Hattie introduce viewers to other rescue dogs in search of forever homes.

This week, Hattie and Max stopped by the Ross County Humane Society to meet Malcolm, a 3-year-old terrier mix.

Malcolm has come a long way since he first came to the shelter a few weeks ago.

“He was missing a lot of his hair and he was infested with fleas,” Jenn Thomas with the Ross County Humane Society said. “He has been treated and he is just a really sweet guy.”

Weighing in at just 10 pounds, Malcolm would make a great lapdog for almost any family. He would do best with a family who is okay with an energetic dog that loves to cuddle at the end of the night.

Malcolm is just one of 73 dogs at the shelter, and the shelter is at capacity.

“Usually in June and July during holidays and vacation times — especially the 4^th of July — we tend to see a large influx in dogs, mostly because the fireworks or, unfortunately, because people are going on vacations and they don’t want to do what is right by their dogs,” Thomas said.

Overcrowding isn’t just a problem at the Ross County shelter: it’s a problem all throughout central Ohio. If the shelters that are currently full take on any more dogs, the quality of life for those dogs goes down and it’s too much work for shelter staff to handle.

“We don’t have enough people to clean and exercise [the dogs] and things like that,” Thomas explained. “We encourage people to come out and if they lost their dog to please see if your dog is here to reclaim it and even adopt a dog.”

Even fostering a dog for a weekend, until they find their forever home or just one day helps the shelter and the dogs.

Ross County Humane Society is one of the shelters participating in NBC4’s Clear the Shelters event. The shelter will offer reduced fees, but it’s important to note that they do not do same-day adoptions, so it’s important to work ahead.

“You have to be approved,” Thomas said. “There is an application process that you have to go through to take a dog out, so we encourage anyone that is interested in participating in that [Clear the Shelters] to go ahead and apply now so you can get approved and pick out your dog.”

For more information about adopting Malcolm, visit the Ross County Humane Society’s website http://rosscountyhumanesociety.org/. To learn more about Max’s Mission, check out Hattie’s Facebook page and follow along with Max’s adventures on Instagram.

For a list of participating shelters in the annual Clear the Shelters event, tap or click here.