‘Furever homes’ not in short supply
Courtesy of Washington Area Humane Society
Maleficent was recently adopted from Washington Area Humane Society.
Courtesy of Washington Area Humane Society
Copper was recently adopted from the Washington Area Humane Society.
Courtesy of Washington Area Humane Society
Mama was recently adopted from Washington Area Humane Society.
Courtesy of Washington Area Humane Society
Retro was recently adopted from the Washington Area Humane Society.
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Courtesy of Washington Area Humane Society
Anthony Squeglia, of Erie, recently adopted Bear from Washington Area Humane Society.
Courtesy of Washington Area Humane Society
Savannah recently found a forever home after Kevin Graham, of Finleyville, adopted her from Washington Area Humane Society.
Those visiting Bridge to Home Animal Rescue’s website recently may have seen a surprising message: There are no dogs available for adoption.
Tracey Crompton, president of the Eighty Four-based organization, said it is something the rescue group has never had to do before, but it will have more dogs available this week.
Since Pennsylvanians have been staying at home because of COVID-19, animal shelters and rescues have been flooded with applications from people interested in adopting a pet.
“We can get, for a litter of puppies, anywhere from 20 to 100 applications per puppy. Now, I got 61 applications for a puppy in one hour the other day,” Crompton said. “You can’t even keep up with it to answer everybody because it’s overwhelming.”
The Washington Area Humane Society is having the same experience.
Kelly Proudfit, the executive director, says many calls are coming in for dogs, usually ones that are smaller, young and can fit in your lap.
“We just don’t have a ton of those coming in. When we do, they leave very quickly,” Proudfit said.
Proudfit says the Humane Society is also limiting its intake of new animals to strays and emergency situations.
According to Proudfit, they will encourage pet owners looking to surrender their animals to keep them until coronavirus-related restrictions begin to lift.
“We’re not getting all those owner surrenders. They’re more adoptable, and need less work. That whole part of our intake has stopped,” Proudfit said.
With so many applications coming in for the dogs that are available, Crompton says it simply is not possible for them to read every single application.
“There are so many, you can’t do it. You skim through real fast,” Crompton said.
She added that they know what kind of households are best suited for particular dogs. For example, some dogs may not be a good fit for a home with children.
Crompton said that suitable applications are sent to the person fostering the dog, who ultimately decides where the dog goes.
Both organizations will take back pets if they turn out not to be a good fit for the household.
“We had a puppy recently returned after 24 hours,” Crompton said.
With the increased demand because of the statewide stay-at-home order, the rescue organizations want to make sure the people who are adopting pets will be able to continue caring for them when they are back at work.
Both Proudift and Crompton expressed concern that not everyone applying to adopt an animal may realize the commitment they are making will last well beyond the current crisis.
“We don’t want all these puppies back,” Crompton said. “We want to make sure we’re finding the right home now.”
For both the Humane Society and Bridge to Home, making sure applicants get a pet is not as important as placing the dog in the right home.
“It’s about the dog. It’s not about pleasing people,” Proudfit said. “We always go back to that core mission of finding happy homes for the animals.”