For many, getting a new furry friend is a major milestone in the long road of life, but taking care of a living, breathing and demanding creature even in the darkest of times is no easy feat. The world has changed drastically as we grappled with the hardships of the pandemic. One particular institution has taken an extremely hard and underrecognized hit: animal shelters.
Local animal shelters across Montgomery County and beyond have been changing their routines as they encounter new restrictions, mandates and laws. Buildings that once housed plentiful opportunities for one-on-one visits between families and their prospective pets have remained closed as new variants continue to appear.
“Unfortunately, now we are not open to the public. Applications are only done online now. This has been difficult because we don’t have as much exposure for the animals as we used to,” Lisa Carrier Baker, Director of Marketing and Community Outreach at the Montgomery County Humane Society, said.
Many shelters are requiring potential owners to schedule appointments, which has resulted in large dips in the “exposure” Baker referred to. In addition, many centers across the county had to close for months during the thick of the virus. “The shelter closed for adoptions for close to five months in 2020,” Maria Anselmo, Community Relations Manager at the Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center, said. There are not enough opportunities for the general public to meet available animals.
With restrictions in place, shelters still face many concerns over remaining open in the coming months. The City of Greenbelt Animal Shelter is just one institution that has been recently forced to temporarily close their doors. What is more, as the pandemic takes jobs away from those who depend on them, many have lost all sources of income. As a result, some shelters have reported a small uptick in relinquishments (the number of animals being “given up”) in the last few years.
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), more than 23 million American households acquired a pet since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that students are returning to school and adults to work, shelters across the nation are observing this trend of relinquishment. The animals that people once thought they could take care of are now being left for eight hours or more as people return to their non-stop lives.
Fortunately, many shelters have seen a rise in donations from people at home wanting to support their community. “We are very fortunate that our regular donors have continued to support us. We have actually never had better online donation drives. This includes Giving Tuesday and most recently the Betty White Challenge,” Baker said.
Anselmo concurred, saying that the pandemic actually brought an increase in adoptions. “We’ve overall had an increase in adoptions once we simplified our adoption process, even with appointments in place,” Anselmo said.
While the current future of Montgomery County animal shelters is uncertain, shelter staff want all readers to know that in rescuing a pet, you really are saving a life. “Always remember when you bring your new pet home to give them time to settle. The first night can often seem like a disaster, but if you allow the animal time to settle, you’ll most likely find out you’ve brought home the love of your life!” Anselmo said.
Written by Ruby Toplian of Walter Johnson High School
Photo courtesy of Pixabay (public domain)