Saturday Night Social: Have You Gotten Your Pandemic Foster Pet Yet?

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Saturday Night Social: Have You Gotten Your Pandemic Foster Pet Yet?
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There aren’t a lot of upsides to the coronavirus pandemic, unless you’re the sort of person who thrives on relentless anxiety and intermittent grief. But here’s one piece of happy news: a lot of very good cats and dogs are finding foster homes.

The Associated Press reports that the number of people fostering pets has skyrocketed over the last few weeks, as more and more Americans find themselves sheltering in place. People who may have been too busy or intimidated to take in a pet are now home all the time, not to mention the fact that a new pet can stave off feelings of loneliness and isolation that comes with social distancing.

Some shelters are even running out of animals, with one Denver shelter telling the Associated Press they have a waiting list of 2,000 families now. “We had people reaching out to us all of a sudden,” Dumb Friends League president Apryl Steele said. “People just wanted to do something to help. We realized pretty quickly that we could soon be facing a shutdown of our adoptions and got on board.”

Though fostering a pet is meant to be temporary, often families decide to give their foster animals forever homes. This is good news for the very good boys and girls who now have loving families, and it’s good news for shelter staff, who should be sheltering in their own homes during this time.

Hope everyone and their pets are staying healthy!

 
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