Every year, TIME magazine selects a “person of the year” to showcase in their latest issue. But this year, they decided that on top of the person of the year, they should also choose a pet of the year. For 2020, it seemed like a no-brainer. With so many negative events, there was one significant victory for animal lovers: an increase in animal adoptions!
Amid the pandemic, many families chose to adopt and foster thanks to their extra free time. So, it only makes sense that instead of having one pet of the year, all rescue animals are crowned winners!
A Win for Furry Friends
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, many people feared that this would negatively impact animals. They thought the stress of the pandemic and the loss of jobs would cause an excess of families to surrender their dogs. But instead, it did the exact opposite. It encouraged more people to adopt!
In no time, empty shelters celebrated for the first time in history. For many locations, there were more people wanting to adopt than there were dogs at the shelter. Even if people couldn’t adopt, they still chose to foster during the quarantine period. So, while 2020 certainly had a lot of low points, rescue animals had the best year of their lives.
“When stay-at-home orders were set into motion, we were anxious about the possibility of seeing an increase in intake requests and a decrease in transfers and adoptions,” said Chicago Animal Care and Control (CACC) Public Information Officer Jennifer Schlueter. “We were so pleased to experience the exact opposite of what we first feared…The demand for foster and adoptive animals coupled with a decrease in intake led us to be down to around 30 animals for a while in the late spring and early summer.”
It’s more than just statistics, though. Many new rescue dog parents have come forward to share their stories of quarantine canines. Kari Milone, a lawyer from Los Angeles, was one of the first to say that she is overjoyed to have adopted a rescue during COVID. After losing both her dogs and surviving COVID-19 herself, she named her new rescue pup Fauci, in honor of Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Rescue Animals of 2020
Milone wasn’t the only one to share a heartwarming adoption story with TIME magazine. Many other dog parents adopted during the pandemic, and they couldn’t be happier about it!
Caitlin McCarthy lost her Westie named Oscar during the pandemic. The loss was even more unbearable now that she was working from home and not going out. So, she decided to open her heart to a senior puppy mill survivor.
“He was used as a puppy mill breeder for 10 years. His whole life was in a cage. He didn’t know what a toy was, he had never had a name, he had never been outside to play. So I’m teaching him all those things,” said McCarthy. “And it’s very healing for me, too. He’s like furry evidence of hope during a very troubling time. When you see a dog that’s survived the most horrific circumstances and he keeps getting better and better every day, how can you not feel hopeful about life in the future?”
While many families found their perfect rescue dogs, others realized that different animals were better for them. Elise Healy and her partner adopted a cat named Poe, who helped them cope during their time at home. And thousands of other families also found their perfect quarantine companions.
2020 was a rough year for humans all over the world, but rescue animals witnessed many positive changes. So, while the person of the year is still unknown, it’s clear that rescue animals are the 2020 pet of the year!
H/T: time.com
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via Whisker Therapy