From the start of quarantine, animal shelters all around the world have had a surge in increase for pet adoptions. Now that families can spend more time with significant others, children, and family, more people have time to take care of pets. Having a pet during quarantine makes staying home a little less lonely.
In London, an animal shelter named Battersea Dogs and Cats Home has set up virtual meetings for potential owners. They would have a Zoom call, and the staff at the shelter would play with the pet on camera to show their features and what they could be like if they stayed in their home. Many shelters followed this idea in order to continue gaining adoptions despite not having anyone come in-person.
Animal shelters during quarantine also needed volunteers to take care of the animals. They all couldn’t be kept at the shelter, so people volunteered to take care of them at home in the meanwhile. This also caused an increase in adoption, where at Animal Care Centers of NYC had 25% of their volunteers end up permanently adopting the pets, previously only 10%. The same centers also saw a lower-than-usual return rate on adopted dogs.
The increase in demand for pets also increased the demand for breeders. Animal shelters have begun “pre-ordering” full litters of puppies before they’re even born. They put the money down in advance so they could keep the inventory in stock and not empty.
Some families have even gone to the extent for taking flights or long hour drives to claim their pet. Some facilities don’t allow dogs to get on a flight with a connection and there are not always nonstop flights, so one family decided to drive 4 hours just to adopt one.
Hopefully, your family, friend, or you have gotten the chance to get a pet or volunteer to help at pet shelters! Having a pet during quarantine helps pass the time and have a good friend to play with when you’re at home. Whether cat, dog, bunny, or snake, having a pet will make the most of your day!
