Good Vibes: People 'Distancing' At Home Are Stepping Up To Relieve Struggling Shelters And Foster Animals
From Michigan's WZZM News:
Local animal shelters are feeling the impacts of the novel coronavirus, as facilities struggle to find cleaning products and secure volunteers.
Harbor Humane is one of several local shelters with dwindling inventory due to over-buying amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
Mackenzie's Animal Sanctuary in Ionia County is low on disinfectant wipes, bleach and paper towels. The Allegan County Animal Shelter is asking for donations of bleach, gloves and face masks.
"Typically in disasters we see a decline in donations and support, but then an uptick the amount of animals coming in and those that need help," Self-Aulgur said.
Shelters are pushing for more fosters and adopters to prepare for the increased intake.
The stories from those Michigan shelters are being echoed across the country as people struggle with finances.
Thankfully people have heard their outcry and are stepping up in huge numbers. As thousands & thousands are finding themselves with a whole lotta free time at home they're doing good with it & have decided to open their homes to foster pets.
From Bakersfield.com:
…on a whim, Kern County Animal Services put out a call on social media for emergency foster homes and announced a drive-thru pickup event on Tuesday.
The response was incredible, Cullen said.
By the end of Wednesday, 88 pets had been put in temporary homes, the agency said on Facebook. It's planning to bring in dogs and cats from its Mojave and Lake Isabella shelters Wednesday and are looking for additional foster families.
"What we've seen from the community is like nothing we've seen before," he said. "We're floored with the response."
And one more from WLWT News (Cincinnati, OH):
If you walk into the Animal Friends Humane Society in Hamilton, expect to see it nearly empty.
The Humane Society posted on Facebook on Monday saying it was in urgent need of people to adopt and foster its animals in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"To prepare for the possibility of not having enough healthy staff/volunteers to care for our shelter animals in the coming weeks, we are faced with having to place as many animals as possible outside of our shelter," the Facebook post said.
The shelter ran a "name your price" adoption event this week and said 40 animals were available.
On Thursday, the Humane Society posted an update on Facebook saying that in just four days, with the exception of three dogs still available for adoption and five dogs housed in the stray dog wing, the shelter had been cleared out.
If you're feeling lonely, have the extra time during this isolation period and think you have the type of space that works for an animal, check out your local shelters & see if adopting or fostering could be an option.
It worked out great for me and Gal Gadot even saw him lick his asshole today. #humblebrag