The article written by Bryan Mims and Valerie Aguirre at WRAL.com,found here, has brought new information to light on foster programs in animal shelters. As many members of the community have been stuck at home alone for almost 2 months and as the need for foster families continued to grow, many took this opportunity to bring a new fluffy friend into their home. The stay at home order has inspired many to adopt or foster pets and so many have done so that shelters have been cleared out across the country. At the beginning of the stay at home order, many shelters were struggling to keep up with the hundreds of animals that had no volunteers to care for them and now as this time comes to a close, thousands of animals have found permanent or temporary homes during these tough times. It is so inspiring to see many reaching out to help these shelters in a time of trouble by bringing into their family new fluffy friends. Despite the emptying shelters, many are expecting an influx of adoptable pets to flood back in as COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease in phase 2 and 3. Many hope that those fostering will seek to adopt fully to keep the hundreds of fostered animals from being surrendered back to the shelters causing more problems in the near future.
4/27/20
Coronavirus Strikes Shelters Hard
Many local Wake County shelters have been struck hard by Coronavirus. Many shelters are heavily dependent on volunteer hours and with the new Stay at Home Order, many organizations are unable to get the help they need. Some places, like Safe Haven for Cats, rely almost entirely on volunteers for cleaning, feeding, and playing with the animals they take care of so shelters are facing tough times trying to care for many of their animals. One organization, SPCA Wake, has turned to home adoption live stream events that they are calling the Home Adopting Network, a fun play on words with the Home Shopping Network , which is where they broadcast adoptable pets via Facebook live. Other organizations are allowing drive up adoptions and pettings where they are able to see and adopt animals without human interaction. Because of the lack of volunteers, many shelters have been earnestly asking for families to step up and foster an animal during these tough times.
4/18/20
Coronavirus’ Impact on Adoption
American society has changed greatly in the past few weeks as the corona virus spreads quickly through the entire country and many are following social distancing procedures by isolating themselves at home. This isolation has brought about a rise in adoptions and fostering of animals throughout the country as many seek furry friends to comfort them through the isolation. Animals have become important during this time, so much so that when California ordered their 40 million citizens to remain at home, they left one exception; walking your dog. One shelter saw an increase in adoptions from 115 in a day to 10-40 applicants in the first three hours. Katy Hansen, director of marketing and communications of Animal Care Centers of NYC, said they originally expected only 50 adoptions but received over 2,000 people who filled out an adoption application, the vast majority of which were millennials stuck at home with only a roommate as company. A nonprofit rescue in Mesa, Arizona, saw a 30% increase in adoptions and a 100% increase in fosters since social distancing began. Dogs and cats are not the only animals being adopted, as some families have turned towards chickens to provide something to care for and eggs for breakfast as grocery stores begin to empty. Social distancing removes human contact so people have moved to adoptions and fostering as a new source of emotional interaction during these trying times. You can read the original article here.