Some animal-shelter officials have encouraged people to take in foster pets during these times of “social distancing” and shelter-in-place orders — and New Yorkers have taken the suggestion to heart.
Best Friends Animal Society and Muddy Paws Rescue say the shelters they work with have seen a major surge in applications, Bloomberg reports. In many cases, they’re out of dogs and cats. “For the moment we definitely don’t have any dogs left to match” with foster volunteers, said Anna Lai of Muddy Paws.
Over the past couple of week, some shelters have seen applications increase by a factor of 10. And Best Friends says foster pets are being snapped up at higher-than-average rates not only in New York, but at many shelters across the country.
Earlier this month, Best Friends encouraged pet adoption as a way to stave off loneliness.
Some animal-shelter official are encouraging pet adoption as a way to stave off loneliness.
“If you don’t have a pet and are thinking about getting one, now is the perfect time to ‘try it on’ by fostering from your local shelter,” Julie Castle, CEO of Best Friends Animal Society, was quoted saying.
Best Friends stated in a Facebook post: “For some, this may be a lonely time and there are so many dogs and cats who would love to keep you company!”
Read more at Bloomberg