Animal Shelters Are Looking For People To Foster Pets Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

Covid-19, it’s all the world can talk about. While more of us are starting to social distance and self-isolate in order to stay healthy, we’re realizing that it can get a bit lonely at times. That is why having a pet to keep us company can be such a good thing during these trying times.

In fact, there is one animal shelter in Virginia who is active about encouraging potential pet owners to consider fostering while in isolation due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. It’s the perfect way to have some company while also staying away from people, and you’re doing something good for the community.

Richmond Animal Care and Control (RACC) in Virginia, has been posting their appeal on Facebook.

Because of the ongoing worry over the spread of COVID-19, the shelter, which the RACC has said is the only open-admission shelter in Richmond, is wanting to reduce their number of staff working in the kennels in order to help reduce the risk of exposure to the virus. However, they can’t do that, unless they have fewer numbers of animals needing care. That is why having foster care for some of the animals would be such a huge relief to the strain that they’re experiencing.

Their post read, “On this Monday morning we are feeling thankful. Thankful for your incredible support; thankful we closed RACC in an effort to keep this virus from spreading and put protocols in place for necessary interactions. RACC is the only open-admission shelter in Richmond—we can’t control what animals come to us or how many will need our help in the coming weeks. Life saving is paramount and our incredible officers are working 24/7 to help those animals most in need. So many of you have opened up your heart and home to a RACC shelter pet during this tricky time and we thank you! The less animals we have in house, the more we can reduce our kennel staff workforce, which reduces exposure. The goal here is to keep our human and pet populations safe. Thank you to everyone for your continued support! #weareyourcityshelter #virtualadoption #fosteringsaveslives.”

There are many other shelters across the country who are in similar positions and are encouraging people to help either foster or adopt animals. The shelters are everywhere, including New York City; Austin, Texas; Phoenix, Arizona; Chicago; Memphis, Tennessee. According to House Beautiful, some of these shelters are even offering adoption services without the fees!

And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there is no evidence to show that companion animals, such as pets, “can spread COVID-19.”