There are lots of animal rescue shelters around the world, especially for domesticated pets like cats and dogs that have unfortunately lost their homes or were abandoned by their owners. The shelters’ main goal is to keep the animals safe by providing them with necessities until they can find people who will adopt them.
Because of the ongoing pandemic, there has been a surge of adoption requests at animal shelters across America.
A shelter in Palm Beach County, Florida had extra cause for celebration when they emptied one of their dog kennels for the first time ever.
It is a good call for a celebration.
According to the shelter’s community outreach manager, Elizabeth Harfmann, their kennel has 48 dog runs, and each dog run can hold two dogs.
Friends of Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control cheered with joy as they achieved this amazing feat for the first time. The shelter shared their joy on social media, and the video grabbed the attention of many internet users and animal lovers.
The whole world now knows of this momentous event.
The news was spread worldwide as the shelter’s Facebook post attracted the attention of major international news media like CNN. Even though their faces are covered with face masks, it is easy to tell that every staff member is overjoyed.
Their proud faces say it all as they clap their hands during the camera’s walkthrough in the kennel.
“It’s been a combined effort from the community,” Harfmann told CNN. “The animals went to foster homes, adopters and to our partner rescue organizations.”
The clip was uploaded on their Facebook page on April 15, 2020, and it reached about two million views and 12,000 shares on the social media platform. Harfmann thanked all the hardworking staff for a job well done.
There are still two other kennels that are waiting to be cleared as well.
The Florida shelter currently holds a total of 79 animals that are ready for the taking. Harfmann has suspended surrender appointments except for emergencies as a precautionary measure just in case people surrender their pets for no good reason.
Other animal shelters are also experiencing a sudden increase in adoption requests.
“We’ve also seen a decrease in incoming animals, so that has helped as well,” Harfmann shared with CNN.
They were not the only ones who noticed the sudden escalation of adoption applications. Plenty of animal shelters shared their sentiments regarding the increase, including the founder of Foster Dogs incorporated, Sarah Brasky, who said that everybody just suddenly became active in fostering or adopting pets.
Despite this good news, some worries are still present in the picture.
The staff worries about people giving their dogs back to the shelters after the coronavirus outbreak because of financial issues, pets getting ill, or the people just realizing that they are not ready to become pet owners.
That is why shelters are preparing themselves for this worst-case scenario that may happen after this current pandemic.
Hope is not lost for these animals in need.
It is wonderful that a lot of people have shown interest in keeping a pet in their homes. Although it is reasonable to have one during these challenging times as they could help relieve stresses and boredom in the house.
Let’s just hope that people keep these pets for good, not just temporarily.
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