“After all, I have antibodies and a dog named Fauzi.”
That's how Los Angeles attorney Kari Milone says she decided to look back on the eight months she spent trying to adopt a rescue dog in 2020—a period of time during which she not only lost her second dog in less than a year, but also survived Covid-19.
Named after Dr. Anthony Fauzi 'Cause he's got a white coat and he was abandoned during the thing 3.2 million shelter for animals American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Evaluations are accepted every year. Demand for pet adoptions has skyrocketed this year: As stay-at-home orders were issued in the U.S. in March in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the ASPCA shared that, according to industry data from RoosterAnimal welfare organizations across the country saw a surge in adoptions in the second half of March, with the estimated national adoption rate of 58% at the start of the month rising to 85% by the end of the month.
“We have seen an incredibly compassionate response from people willing to open their homes to facilitate and adopt vulnerable shelters during this period of uncertainty, and applaud them for stepping up so heroically for animals in need,” says ASPCA President and CEO Matt Beershadker. “This unprecedented, compassionate response from communities across the country to support their local shelters reflects a widespread appreciation for the invaluable role that pets play in our lives.”
Despite concerns that stay-at-home orders will lead to shelters becoming overrun with animals due to an increase in abandoned pets, officials from rescue organizations such as Chicago Animal Care and Control (cACC) And Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles (Spcala) Let's say the opposite was true.
“When stay-at-home orders were put in place, we were concerned about the possibility of an increase in intake requests and a decrease in transfers and adoptions,” says CACC Public Information Officer Jennifer Schlueter. “We were so excited to experience the complete opposite of what we initially feared…demand for fosters and adopters coupled with decreased consumption has led us to be down to 30 animals for some time in the late spring and early summer.”
In Los Angeles, Spcala President Madeline Bernstein says the shelter is euthanizing pets as quickly as ever. “This is true across the country,” she says. “Animal shelters have been devastated with adoptable animals through adoptions or foster care, due to the fact that it is a good time for families to be together during lockdown to work with a new pet. And it’s also a hedge against loneliness.”
It's a trend that doesn't surprise longtime pet owners like Caitlin McCarthy, who understands first-hand. What comfort animals can be? especially in times of stress or isolation. After her dog, named Oscar, died in September, McCarthy, a teacher at Worcester Public Schools in Massachusetts, says she couldn't cope without her fur baby.
“This pandemic has been a very isolating situation,” she says. “I was grateful to have time with Oscar because his health started to fail when schools closed, so I was able to be with him. But after he passed away, I really noticed that he didn't have it in the house because he was part of the family. I work from home. I'm not leaving. I really missed the dog.”
So when she saw it Northern New England Westie Rescue Inc. After sharing some photos on Facebook of several dogs that were up for adoption, she jumped at the opportunity. “I messaged them straight away,” she says. “It's not even what I thought. I just did it. Because I knew. I saw little faces and I knew one of them had to be mine.”
About a week later, McCarthy met a volunteer driver in the Olive Garden parking lot to pick up Finbarr, a 10-year-old Westie who had been rescued from a Kansas “puppy.” As soon as she held him, she says she knew they had a connection.
“I was aiming for a photograph of him that [the rescue] posted on Facebook. There was something very soulful in his eyes. So I told them that I would be happy with any dog, but if I could meet him, I think he is the dog for me,” she says. “I went to pick him up and they opened the back of the car and there he was.” I was so excited and he was shy as you can imagine. But as soon as I picked it up, he licked me right on the cheek. It was as if he knew, as if he was saying, “You'll be my girlfriend, won't you?” And the answer was yes.”
Since arriving at her new home on Oct. 26, Finbarr (a name McCarthy says she chose because her late mother loved it) has blossomed before McCarthy's eyes. “He was used as a puppy breeder for 10 years. His whole life was in a cage. He didn't know what a toy was. He never had a name. He was never outside to play. So I teach him all these things,” she says. “And it’s also very healing. It feels like fluffy proof of hope in a very troubling time. When you see a dog who has been through the worst of circumstances and he continues to get better and better every day, how can you not feel hope for life in the future?”
The emotional support that pets can offer their owners is more important than ever right now, says Rachel Silverman, a psychologist specializing in couples and family psychology who often prescribes emotional support animals for patients. “With so much uncertainty and instability, animals provide people, especially children, with unconditional love, support and comfort, and also serve as a distraction,” she says. “I had one 8-year-old patient tell me how she shared her foster cat with her grandmother so that her grandmother would have a piece of her with her and not feel lonely because she could not visit her.”
Staying home amid the pandemic has also pushed many pet owners to find themselves in rescue mode, while finding out just how much emotional toll animals can be capable of. Since adopting my dog Nana, a 6 year old boxer mix, from… Badass Brooklyn Animal Rescue In April, Crystal Kayiza and Peter Quandt came to find out that she had an uncanny knack for lifting the mood.
“She's so joyful to have and she's really attuned to how people feel. I think everyone talks about this about their dog, but she is definitely acutely aware when someone is having a bad day,” says Kaiza. “She has really low energy and just wants to cuddle with people and hang out. I think taking a break from looking at screens and just sitting on the floor with my dog for a bit was really needed during this time.”
Of course, it's not just dogs that provide those much-needed moments of levity. When Eliza Healy and her partner realized they wouldn't be able to travel to France, where they had planned a march to celebrate finishing graduate school, they decided to adopt a new cat instead. They ended up saving Poe, a black pet short haired Seattle Area Cat RescueWho, along with his other cat Keaton, helped them cope with spending the year at home.
“[Poe’s] crazy. He loves to be chased around the house, played with, and will randomly jump into our circles and hang out with us. He often falls from his cat tower. I don't think I can adequately explain how wild and fun he is,” says Healy. “It's breaking into the day to be sitting at your desk, working and bored, and then, you know, suddenly a box appears, moving around the house because he walked into it and can't get out.”
2021 is looking like a big year for pets, too: in January, a shelter dog will take up residence at the White House for the first time President-elect Joe Biden He moves with his dog Major, a German shepherd who adopted Bidens in 2018 from Delaware Humane Association (DHA)Field It will be a momentous day for supporters “Satisfy, don't shop” A growing movement that encourages people to adopt pets from shelters and rescue groups instead of purchasing them from commercial breeders.
“Our staff and our volunteers are very excited that the Major is going to the White House, mainly because it highlights the important work we do to find great homes for dogs and cats. It's like, if one of our DHA receivers is good enough for the White House, it's good enough for your house, right?” says DHA Executive Director Patrick Carroll. “And it's not just DHA. This highlights adoption for all shelters in Delaware and across the country. I think having a shelter dog going to the White House will really help with that awareness.”
That Major and Bidens' other dog, Champ, heading to the White House will also mark the return of the time-honored tradition of presidential pets. “Americans are the majority of pet owners,” says Andrew Hager, resident historian Presidential Pet MuseumPaul “We kind of expect this from our presidents, and we got it for the most part because presidents come from the American people, and it's part of our culture.”
There are slaughterhouses reportedly Plan to involve the cat too. Perhaps they, like many other Americans, have been bitten by the pet adoption bug. Milone, for example, says that although it's only been a few weeks since Fauzi came home, his presence has already made one thing clear: Despite the problems she faced the first time, she wants to save another dog – and soon. “The only thing I became absolutely sure of was that I would get more help,” she says. “I need a month to feel good [Fauci]so that he and I know each other really well. Then I'll get a second one.”
