Animal adoptions on the rise during pandemic
‘The demand is more than what we have to offer,’ SPCA chief operating officer says
B.C. animal shelters and rescue groups have seen a significant uptick in the number of people looking to adopt a pet, in part because the COVID -19 pandemic has given them more time at home.
However, many prospective pet adopters have ended up on waiting lists because there are few animals available for adoption.
“The demand is more than what we have to offer,” B.C. SPCA chief operating officer Parm Takhar said. “That’s because a lot of people can probably take animals into their homes now, so we’re seeing a huge increase — and as a result of that, we don’t have enough animals for all the applicants that come in.”
During the pandemic, the SPCA has adopted out about 4,500 animals — mostly cats, kittens, dogs and puppies, but also some small animals, horses and other farm animals.
At the same time, the number of adoption inquiries has increased by almost 50 per cent.
Fostering has also been popular, Takhar said.
That means the agency has 28 per cent more foster homes and about 80 per cent of the animals that have come into care since the start of the pandemic have ended up in foster care.
It has worked in the SPCA’s favour, because like other shelters during the pandemic they have tried to limit the number of people working in and visiting their facilities.
Adopting out and fostering animals means they’re cared for and SPCA staff can easily follow safety protocols.
Community animal adoption groups, which often don’t have brick-and-mortar shelters, also have felt the weight of the public’s desire to have an animal companion at home.
The Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association (VOKRA) often has a waiting list in January and February because kittens aren’t generally born until late spring, but kitten season was later this year and at one point their waiting list had more than 275 approved adopters.
Tasha Bukovnik, VOKRA’s president, said the organization is receiving 15 to 20 new applications daily and the waiting list currently stands at around 200 adopters. They were also inundated with foster requests.
Kittens and a majority of cats are getting adopted as soon as they become available — 700 felines have been adopted since the beginning of the year.
However, for those still looking, there are some cats with special needs or behaviour issues that have been harder to home.
Despite the fact that the Thank Dog I Am Out Rescue Society stopped bringing animals across international borders regularly months ago, it still has a waiting list of about 20 people — that number fluctuates — patiently waiting for pets.
The occasional dog comes to the group thanks to a flight escort, but each one is promptly adopted. One dog garnered 60 applications within an hour of being advertised online.
In the meantime, they’ve handed out free dog and cat food at food banks, and quietly helped re-home a handful of local animals.
The Paws for Hope Animal Foundation offers donated pet food and supplies, vet-care funding, and training and behaviour support for homeless, street-involved and low-income pet guardians, with the goal of keeping pets and owners together.
We’re doing our best to help as many pets as we can, but we’ve had that (Paws for Hope) fund for six years and I’ve never seen a time like we’re seeing now.
Kathy Powelson, executive director of Paws for Hope, said this month there were 28 applications and last month there were 39, when typically this time of year they would see maybe five applications.
Some people also are surrendering their animals because of financial hardship.
“People really are struggling and it is heartbreaking,” she said.
“We’re doing our best to help as many pets as we can, but we’ve had that fund for six years and I’ve never seen a time like we’re seeing now.”
The hope among animal-rescue groups, most of which have rigorous adoption processes, is that pets won’t be sent back to shelters once people return to work, school or other activities.
Although some shelters in North America are reporting higher-than-usual return rates for animals, the SPCA hasn’t had that experience.
In fact, Takhar said, the return rate has decreased from six per cent to four.