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  2020-04-30

  Greece: Coronavirus threatens fate of abandoned dogs

  Athens, Greece – As a nationwide lockdown enters its second month in Greece, animal rescue groups and shelters have become overwhelmed with the number of strays piling up in their facilities. Although dog adoption in central Athens and other urban city centres continues, as some seek companionship in the form of pets during the lockdown, international dog adoption from Greece to countries across Europe and the US has come to a standstill. A lack of resources means that shelters have been forced to stop taking in new strays, leading to more dogs on the street. It also means more dogs continuing to breed in the wild, which again increases the number of strays. Even before the coronavirus pandemic changed the nature of dog adoption in Greece, more dogs were being abandoned because people could no longer afford them and also due to a hunting culture.
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  2021-07-03

  A Dog's Tale

  This is Hannah aka Hannah Banana. My husband and I adopted her May 4, 2013 from a rescue in St. Catherine's, ON. We live just over the border in Buffalo, NY. Hannah is a purebred Sheltie (Shetland Sheepdog), but purebred gone wrong. She is what is called a double merle. That means an irresponsible breeder bred two merle coated dogs together, which results in 25% of the litter being born deaf, primarily white in color, and with eye problems or missing eyes altogether. Hannah was approximately 4 years old at the time. The previous owners who surrendered her had had her for 2 years. They had adopted her from a shelter that had picked her up as a stray. Hannah was our 2nd double merle (we also have an Aussie with the same problem), so we were used to the unique problems associated with deaf and vision impaired dogs, but Hannah came with many more from a history of abuse and neglect. One of her biggest issues was that she was absolutely terrified of people, particularly men, and she hated small children. We worked with a trainer, we did agility twice a week, and did barn hunt once a week. She broke out of her shell a lot, but did not lose her fear of people. In 2016 my husband and I had our first and only child, Charlotte. Hannah was very aggressive towards her. She would bark and snap at her. We had to keep her separated a lot, and we worried about what the future would bring. She got a bit better when Charlotte could walk, but not to a comfort level. Once Charlotte was about 3, Hannah accepted that she was a human in the house but wanted nothing to do with her. She didn't really want to have much to do with any of us or our other dog except for at agility class. She wouldn't play with us and only tolerated petting for a short while. Fast forward to 2020. While COVID-19 was cause fear, anxiety, and depression in people, for Hannah it was just what she needed. After a few months, she became a whole new dog. Having all three of her humans home 24/7 seemed to alleviate a lot of her fears and anxieties. She completely bonded with Charlotte. She actually plays with her and snuggles with her and sleeps in her bed. Who knew this 12-year-old dog just needed constant companionship to heal her old wounds. Luckily, my career path changed during the pandemic (I am going back to school to pursue a PhD) and so I will continue to be home a lot of the time. While COVID did bring devastation to people across the world, for one little dog it was just the medicine she needed.
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  2021-05-31

  Pandemic pets: Pet shops seeing more abandoned reptiles

  Pet shops in Charlotte, NC report that alongside the increased demand for exotic pets, there has been an uptick in animal abandonment as well. The pet shop in this article reported that the number of rescue calls they received doubled during the pandemic. Exotic animals abandoned outside raise environmental concerns. If some manage to survive the winter, they could pose a threat to native wildlife.
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  2021-02-04

  Exotic Birds Rescued During the Pandemic

  As a parrot owner myself, this story is near and dear to my heart. Amid the national news headlines of dog and cat adoptions sweeping the nation during the pandemic, the opposite is true for our feathered friends. Parrots require a great deal of time, care, money, and space. Most birds easily outlive dogs and cats, and the larger ones often outlive their owners. Parrots can be loud, demanding and messy. They don't respect that you are in a zoom meeting with the CEO or that your neighbor's baby is asleep in the apartment on the other side of the wall. With people working from home, losing income, and/or being hospitalized or passing away from COVID-19, many parrots have been surrendered to rescues.
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  2020-11-09

  Pupside to the Pandemic

  This adorable story uses the example of a neighborhood in Rosemount, Minnesota to demonstrate the trend of families adopting dogs during the pandemic. In this neighborhood, 17 puppies were adopted by 17 families living within 3 blocks of each other, with a surprise 18th at the end of the video.
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  2021-05-08

  US dog shelters struggle with returns after pandemic adoption boom - BBC News

  This story from the BBC talks about how many dogs adopted during the pandemic are being returned to shelters once life returns to normal. Some adopters did not think ahead or understand all the implications of pet ownership. This is a traumatic experience for these poor animals. Also fewer dogs were neutered/spayed during the pandemic, so there is an uptick in the number of puppies needing homes.
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  2020-09-12

  Coronavirus and pets: How the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked an increase in pet adoption

  This video talks about the shortage of available dogs for adoption in the United States during the pandemic. It describes the huge demand in the North East, California, etc. but packed shelters in the South. This is a trend that started long before the pandemic. Southern shelters are shipping dogs to shelters in the North for adoption. Millenials and Gen Z people want more pets and are willing to spend more money on their pets. This trend is expected to continue after the pandemic as more people negotiate with their employers to have non-traditional or hybrid work models.
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  2020-05-22

  Pet Adoption Protocol During the Pandemic - A Purr-fect Fit Animal Rescue

  This is a social media post from A Purr-fect Fit Animal Rescue in Buffalo, New York explaining their covid procedure to potential adopters.
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  2021-01-03

  Ten Lives Club Eastern Hills Mall Adoption Success

  This is a Facebook post from a rescue group that operates out of the local shopping mall. Even though the mall was closed during the pandemic, the group still managed to place 600 cats with their new furever families.
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  2021-01-26

  Running Out of Adoptable Pets

  During the pandemic, shelters are having the best problem possible- there aren't enough homeless animals to meet the demand. It is a dream come true scenario for animal lovers everywhere. With more people working from home than ever before, families have more time to devote to a pet. Hopefully the trend will continue, and owners will not surrender their animals after life returns to normal.
• 
  2020

  Pet Adoption Statistics 2020

  We heard so many wonderful and uplifting stories of pet adoption during the pandemic. If you wanted a dog, particularly a puppy, you most likely had to sit on a waiting list to get one. This anecdotal evidence points toward a huge increase in pet adoption, but what do the numbers tell us? This data report from PetPoint, who has been tracking pet surrender and adoption data nationwide since 2005, paints a slightly different picture. Pet surrenders reduced significantly, so there just weren't as many pets in need of adoption. Pet adoption percentages actually decreased in 2020 from 2019. So the pet adoption boon that we imagined was happening, was not the miracle story that animal enthusiasts were hoping for. As we emerge from the pandemic it will be interesting to look at the final report at the end of 2021 to see if there is a drastic increase in surrenders as many shelters are anticipating.
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  2021-05-13

  Pandemic Pets Return to Shelters

  Sadly, as the nation returns to work and activities, pets adopted during the pandemic are paying the price. According to the article, owner surrenders are up more than 80% from this time last year. People did not think far enough ahead about what would happen once the pandemic was over. Now its the poor animals who have to pay the price. When will people learn that animals are not toys to be thrown away when it becomes inconvenient?
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  2021-06-19

  Pet Adoption Comic NPR

  This comic is fun, engaging, and informative. It talks about the increase in pet adoption during the pandemic and how pets helped a lot of people deal with emotional trauma. It cautions would-be pet owners not to jump blindly into adopting and to think about what will happen when life returns to normal. Separation anxiety can be difficult for pets to deal with, and owners need to have a plan for that.