Many families with parents working remotely and kids at home are using this rare time to adopt or foster a furry friend from local animal shelters.
This was the case for the Manning family. It had been a year since their two Lhasa Apso dogs died of cancer and old age. Mother Darla Manning said her teen, Aria, had been asking for a new dog for a while, and with the family spending more time at home, Aria finally got her wish on St. Patrick’s Day.
The family adopted a small, white and deaf pitbull named Hedwig from Maricopa County Animal Care and Control animal shelter.
“She has a lot of anxiety and fear and was exhibiting those in the shelters and they had put her on the e-list to euthanize her because of her stress,” Darla Manning said.
With Hedwig around now, Darla Manning said the family is going for more walks. The pittie is also helping them cope with the coronavirus pandemic and the recent anniversaries of Darla Manning’s oldest daughter and son-in-law’s suicides.
“My daughter told me the other day she hasn't seen me happy or laugh as much as recently because of Hedwig,” the Glendale mother said in a Facebook message. “This dog is healing us as much as we are healing her!! She is very spoiled lol.”
Fostering is another option available for families who are looking for a furry friend at this time, but are not ready to make a long-term commitment.
That’s the case for Amit Sahasrabudhe and his wife. They don’t currently have a pet because of their busy work schedules. Being at home more gave them the opportunity to open it up temporarily for Jack, a black lab mix from the Arizona Animal Welfare League where they are long-time volunteers.
“We’re big animal lovers so the thought of Jack being stuck at the shelter with minimal interaction and activity and chance of adoption was less than ideal,” he said.
Since having Jack at home, the thought of adopting Jack and keeping him permanently has crossed the couple’s minds, but they haven’t made a final decision yet, Sahasrabudhe said.
Successes And Fears
With the recent wave of adopters and foster volunteers, the Maricopa County shelter said its animal population is at its lowest level in recent history.
The shelter’s director, Mary Martin, said its East Valley location, which holds around 300 animals, is empty.
“The dogs and cats in our care right now are doing incredibly well. The reason they are doing incredibly well is because our numbers are way down so the stress levels in the shelter are way down making it a nicer environment for the dogs,” Martin said.
The county shelter extended its hours from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends to 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends to accommodate more people since adoption appointments have been completely booked for weeks.
Other rescue organizations across the Valley, including the Arizona Animal Welfare League, are having similar success placing pets into new homes.
Spokesperson Michael Morefield said this includes some of the welfare league’s long-term residents like Chelsea, a sassy, independent cat who has been with the shelter on and off for four years. She was adopted this past weekend. Morefield, who knew Chelsea as a kitten, said her adoption was bittersweet.
“It means a lot that she’s got a great chance at finding her fur-ever home and the dad, this guy knew he wanted a tough chick who kept her own space but wanted to play on her terms ’cause that’s what he lived with and that’s exactly what he got,” Morefield said.
But animal organizations are also bracing for a possible fallout as more people have their hours cut or get laid off.
Morefield said that includes animal clinics where workers have been furloughed or are only conducting urgent surgeries. That includes spay and neuter surgeries needed to control the feral cat population.
“So I have a concern that we are going to have a very big kitten season because people aren’t able to do trap, neuter, return during this time during the beginning of kitten season because the moms aren’t able to get spayed because a lot of clinics aren’t operating right now,” he said.
Martin is worried about a different kind of influx — domestic pets — as food and housing insecurities could lead to families abandoning their animals.
“I am fearful that people will be getting desperate,” Martin said.
The county shelter received a shipment of 27 pallets of dog food from the GreaterGood.org nonprofit organization last week, which Martin said it donated to individual residents, local food banks and the San Carlos Apache Tribe to help needy families. Martin said the shelter is expecting another semi-load of pet food next week that it will share with the community.
One of the shelter’s partners, the Arizona Pet Project, works with families considering surrendering their pets and connects them with a social worker and resources to help them get back on their feet.
The Pet Project’s executive director, Leanna Taylor, said her organization is already seeing an increase of about 10% of calls per day from families in crisis. Her nonprofit has raised more than $11,000 from grants from the Arizona Community Foundation and individual donors to help these families.
“Families are starting to really feel the pinch and any unexpected expense is spiraling them further into chaos and despair,” she said.
Taylor said they plan to raise an additional $48,500 to help even more families with pet food, housing and veterinary care.
“Keeping pets with families should always be the first option," she said. "Shelters are wonderful, they do such an amazing job of caring for homeless pets in our community, but it really should be a last resort."
