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Animal shelters in the United States are being left empty thanks to the new coronavirus, which in the midst of the confinement has prompted many to adopt a pet.
“I had never seen anything like it”said Kitty Block, president of the NGO Humane Society, which works with some 400 shelters across the country.
“The (temporary) reception and adoptions are through the roof,” he told AFP. “All the shelters are reporting the same thing, it’s amazing to see how many lives have been saved.”
Block explained that the confinement orders forced the shelters to close, but that the calls they made to adopt pets had an overwhelming response.
Dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, and even chickens have found homes, as people are looking for pets to help them cope with the confinement.
“We have always talked about having a dog, but we have not found the right time until now,” said Jalene Hillery, a teacher who lives in San Diego, California, and who recently adopted Mason, an American pit bull at a local shelter.
She noted that the fact that she and her husband, as well as their two young children, are at home have allowed the adoption to proceed smoothly as they have time to care for the dog and help him adjust to his new home.
“We managed to connect with him, train him, and that has been really fun”, he told AFP.
Hillery said Mason has also proven to be a great company for her children, ages 9 and 11, who were very anxious between not going to school and not being able to see their friends.
“The dog is fulfilling a need … and is capable of providing comfort, love and play,” said Hillery.
“It has definitely filled a void in our home that we didn’t even know existed. It is too good to be true. ”
“A reason to get up”
Shelters across the country, from Wisconsin to North Carolina and from Virginia to Colorado, report that temporary animal shelter has also skyrocketed.
Sherri Franklin, founder of Muttville Senior Dog Rescue in San Francisco, said she has never seen such a stream of community support in the 25 years she has worked in animal rescue.
“When the order to stay home was issued (in March), we had 86 dogs in our care and we moved them all to foster homes within 48 hours,” he said.
Temporary animal shelter helps shelters that had to close. Franklin further said that in these difficult and stressful times, the presence of a pet is beneficial to both the animal and humans.
“And it is even more so for the human, who needs a reason to get up, a connection to this world and needs something to alleviate isolation and stress,” he said.
For Sarah Chan, 25, who lives in San Diego with her partner Morgan Miller, also 25, Silvia’s adoption was somewhat automatic after they saw the photo of the cat on the Instagram account of her social refuge.
“It’s given us company and it’s a good distraction,” said Chan, who works for a semiconductor company.
Lauren Amaral said she decided to host two guinea pigs, Ally and Emi, to help her local shelter in these uncertain times.
“Having them makes me happy. They give me a lot of joy, ”said Amaral, 20, who studies nursing. “Every time I pet them, I feel much better after a stressful time, and they are the sweetest girls in the world.”.
If you want to give a dog or cat in need a chance, the Coaama organization in Concepción or the Adopta foundation in Santiago have many abandoned animals and today they are waiting for a permanent home.
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