“This has been a phenomenal response. People just want to do something helpful.”

~ Lisa Barrett, Best Friends senior manager for the Southeast to offer help to our partners. Lydia LaSalle, executive director of Best Friends in Utah, says, “Placing pets in foster homes puts us in a better position to respond to Utah shelters and rescue organizations that may be hurting due to a decrease in adoptions.”

The fostering response was so strong in New York that our team there started sending interested people to Animal Care Centers of NYC, which hoped to recruit 200 emergency foster homes. New Yorkers were just as eager to help the city shelter. At last count, according to Mallory Kerley, communications manager for Best Friends in New York, the city shelter had 300 foster volunteers signed up.

And in Atlanta, Lisa says, “We were moving into a situation where we had more foster homes than animals.” So, she reached out to municipal shelters to offer help, taking in their pets in need and placing them in foster homes. Lisa says, “All the cats at one of our county shelters had upper respiratory infections, and such cats get better a lot faster in foster homes.” Across the country in Los Angeles, lead adoption specialist KylieRose Melville says, “We continued pulling animals from the city shelters to help support them, since they were still taking in animals.”

We’re doing whatever we can to save pets in shelters. But it’s only possible because shelters and rescue groups are helping each other, and the community is supporting it all. Mallory sums it up well: “We find ourselves in uncertain times, and while it would be easy to simply hunker down and hide from the world, people are asking themselves: How can I turn my situation into an opportunity to help? And that’s amazing.”

For the latest information: bestfriends.org/covid19

BEST FRIENDS MAGAZINE May/June 2020

Blanco and Azura

Blanco and Azura are two stunning feline buddies who ended up at the Best Friends Lifesaving Center in Mission Hills because of an issue with the rental policy regarding pets at their previous home. Elizabeth, who stepped up to foster the feline duo, felt like getting a couple adult cats out of the center was an easy thing to do. “Being sequestered with these two affectionate fluff monsters has been such a pleasure,” she says. “They have made these challenging times so much brighter, and it does my heart good to have them in my home.”

Brian

When big, beautiful Brian arrived at the shelter, the staff discovered that he is deaf and he tested positive for heartworm. It was those special circumstances that inspired Caitlin to foster him. In addition to providing a stress-free environment for Brian as he goes through heartworm treatment, Caitlin’s home is the perfect space for her to teach Brian some sign language to help with basic training. “With so many people able to stay home because of COVID-19,” says Caitlin, “it feels like a great opportunity to help an animal in need.”

Bubbles

A pint-sized puppy with a giant personality, Bubbles is one of the first puppies with parvovirus that Detroit Animal Care and Control was able to save, thanks to a devoted and ever-growing group of local supporters and volunteers. Even though Emily hadn’t fostered a dog in several years, she raised her hand to help. “I said I’d be happy to foster an adult dog, assuming that’s what was needed,” she says. “And I ended up with Bubbles, a 12-pound puppy who makes hilarious T. rex noises when she yawns and is the perfect addition to my morning conference calls.”

As concerns grow surrounding COVID-19 and its long-term impact, Best Friends is offering FREE veterinary consultations to those unable to leave their homes.

Download the Best Friends Vet Access app at

13

BEST FRIENDS MAGAZINE May/June 2020