The coronavirus crisis has shown how generous people can be.
When the pandemic started, animal advocates from all over North America got together and launched a massive fostering campaign.
“I don’t think we ever thought people would be so willing to open up their homes to homeless pets,” said Kristen Hassen-Auerbach with Human Animal Support Services, a group educating others on how to reduce animal euthanasia.
The group says the campaign resulted in nearly half of shelter pets going into foster care in April and May.
In some places, the wait list was longer than the pets needing placement.
“If this moment has taught us anything, it’s that we're all vulnerable. On any day, it could be any one of us that’s facing losing our homes or our pets and this is the time to help each other,” said Hassen-Auerbach.
The group is now helping shelters evolve. They want a majority of animals that come into shelters to be in foster homes within hours or days. That frees up money to provide food and medical support to animal owners going through tough times.
“We’re finding through early research that dogs in particular are only going a couple of houses to a couple of blocks away from their house. They're really close to home most of the time and many times if someone can just hold an animal for a few hours, they can get it home without the stress of the shelter,” said Hassen-Auerbach.
