Animal shelters are turning to foster families to meet demand for pets

Adriana Reedy failed as a foster parent for the first time – and she’s happy she did.

Reedy was only going to be a temporary keeper for Juniper, a shy and skinny pit bull-Labrador mix at the Everett Animal Shelter. It didn’t work that way.

“We bonded completely,” she said. “I ended up adopting him.

Reedy is one of hundreds of animal lovers who have helped local shelters care for and prepare dogs and cats for adoption during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pet adoptions increased last year as we searched for four-legged companionship or, working from home, found time to care for a pet.

In the United States, dog and cat adoptions were up 15% last year from 2019, according to Shelter Animals Count, a nonprofit that tracks adoptions.

Interest in farm animal adoptions has also grown, at least locally, said Stacey DiNuzzo, spokesperson for Pasado’s Safe Haven in Sultan.

“Goats, cows, pigs – they need a higher level of care and, with people working from home, they could provide it,” DiNuzzo said.

However, many animal shelters have not been able to meet the demand for pets.

PAWS in Lynnwood, the Everett Animal Shelter, the NOAH Center in Stanwood, and the Pasado Safe Shelter have been closed to visitors during the height of the pandemic. Because of this, adoptions were either done online or were done by appointment, which resulted in a drop in the number of adoptions.

Demand has also increased within the Progressive Animal Welfare Society – “We had a long, very long waiting list,” said Heidi Wills, CEO of PAWS. But only 3,000 dogs and cats were adopted last year compared to 4,500 in 2019.

This year, PAWS and the NOAH Center airlifted 90 dogs and cats from California, but it still wasn’t enough.

“We didn’t have a lot of animals,” said Sara Bradshaw, director of operations at the NOAH Center. “We weren’t able to bring in so many animals because some of our partner shelters stopped functioning. “

Another reason for the shortage: Fewer pet owners have turned over their pets to shelters. Moratoriums on evictions meant tenants weren’t forced to give up dogs and cats because their new owners didn’t allow pets.

PAWS and the Everett Animal Shelter have stopped allowing volunteers inside. With fewer workers on site to care for cats and dogs, including those with medical needs, this limited the number of animals shelters could accommodate.

“If someone found a stray animal, we would ask them to hang on to it – that way we wouldn’t have so many animals,” said Glynis Frederiksen, director of the Everett Animal Shelter.

NOAH and Pasado had enough staff to care for their animals, but PAWS and the Everett Shelter turned to foster pet parents for help.

And they helped him – these volunteers played a vital role during the pandemic. Without them, even fewer animals could have been adopted.

In fact, Reedy was hoping to adopt from the Everett Animal Shelter when she got the cock to be a temp.

“The dog I was interested in was available for about an hour – and already had 100 applicants,” she said. When his offer failed, shelter staff suggested he consider fostering, which is how Reedy connected with Juniper.

PAWS received more than 500 hospitality requests in March and April 2020, Wills said. This is 250% more than the whole of 2019.

And they stayed there. PAWS now has 477 foster families, up from 350 in 2019, Wills said.

“We were looking for all kinds of family environments for host families – with or without yards, houses and apartments,” she said.

Prospective foster parents must attend a 60-90 minute virtual orientation session. But more than anything, they need “a willingness to open your heart and your home,” said shelter spokesperson Laura Follis.

“It was amazing the number of people we saw,” said Brittany Cannon, who manages the PAWS hospitality program.

Foster families not only housed the animals, but socialized the “kittens in need of cuddles” and helped shy dogs learn that it is okay to be around us, Cannon said.

“A foster mother took a pregnant bitch who ended up having 10 puppies,” Cannon said. “She took care of them for three months. We had all kinds of people – experienced and non-experienced – who wanted to get involved. ”

Longtime foster families like Nate Sage, an expert in caring for cats with ringworm, have not been lacking either.

Since enrolling as a foster parent in 2011, Sage, a Lynnwood resident and emergency nurse, has taken in 96 cats, many of whom suffer from ringworm, a condition that can take two to three months. to disappear.

Sage’s diligence earned him the PAWS Foster Parent of the Year 2020 award. “I got a T-shirt and a trophy,” said Sage, whose two cats, Bohdi and Johnny Utah, have learned to tolerate. new arrivals.

Before the pandemic, the Everett Animal Shelter did not send animals to foster families. “They just stayed in the shelter,” said Frederiksen, who sought foster families when the shelter closed.

“People have stepped up like you wouldn’t believe,” she said. “A lot of people would work from home and say, ‘I have time for a puppy or a kitten where I didn’t have time before.’” When it closed, the Everett Animal Shelter made a discovery important: visitors have significantly reduced “kennel stress”.

“People walking through the shelter scared the cats and made the dogs bark, bark,” Frederiksen said. “When we didn’t have people coming to the shelter, that behavior disappeared. “

Due to the change, the Everett shelter plans, for now, to stick to the online and by appointment model it adopted during the pandemic.

When the time came for Reedy to propose Juniper for adoption, a family with two children responded. Although they appeared to be “perfectly adjusted,” Reedy couldn’t bring himself to let Juniper go.

After two days in tears, she told Everett Shelter, “I’m so sorry, I have to keep her.”

In the parlance of animal shelters, this is called a foster failure. It is a happy event.

Juniper and Reedy paddle boarded at Green Lake and Lake Union in Seattle. “She goes up to the back of the board with me,” Reedy said. “She doesn’t like water, she just likes to be with me.”

Now she’s helping Juniper feel comfortable on hikes in the woods. “It’s wonderful to see her personality emerge,” said Reedy, a cancer researcher who moved to Seattle before the pandemic.

Before Juniper, Reedy was a homebody. But her smiling puppy motivates Reedy to get out and navigate the city.

Bothell resident and software developer Rebekah Warnock began supporting PAWS in May 2020.

“I started last year when I started working from home during the pandemic,” Warnock said. “I like going out with animals. ”

A first-time foster parent, Warnock has two rescue dogs: Goober, a corgi, and Mitski, “a big 60-pound mutt.”

They don’t care about the company.

Among her recent foster families: Kira, a bitch with seven puppies, Archie, an elderly cat, and now Hunny-Bunny, an 8 week old kitten.

Warnock enjoys the challenge of getting shy puppies and cautious kittens out of their shells.

Are you wondering if you should become a pet foster parent? Warnock has a simple answer, “If you love animals and are up for a few twists and turns, I say go for it. ”

Janice Podsada; [email protected]; 425-339-3097; Twitter: JanicePods

North Washington Coast Magazine

This article is featured in the fall issue of Washington North Coast Magazine, a supplement to the Daily Herald. Explore Snohomish and Island counties with each quarterly magazine. Each issue costs $ 3.99. Subscribe to receive all four editions for $ 14 per year. Call 425-339-3200 or visit www.washingtonnorthcoast.com for more information.

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