As the world slowly reopens, Dallas Animal Services (DAS) reports "pandemic pets" are staying with their new families.
Last year, the pandemic forced the animal shelter to change its operations, leading them to call for desperate pleas for adopters and fosters.
Although the pandemic had its negative effects, DAS received a huge amount of support as many were in search of four-legged companionship as they became more available at home.
Now, many shelters, including DAS, are facing a difficult summer with ongoing animal capacity challenges.
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DAS says that in their case, there hasn't been a correlation between pet owners returning to work and their shelter's increased pet intake.
"I can't speak for other shelters, but at DAS we are not seeing an increase in adoption returns," Interim Director of DAS MeLissa Webber said. "In fact, we've seen our adoption return rate go down this year compared to last year. The rate of pets adopted during the pandemic that were returned to DAS since the world began opening back up is less than 1%. What is driving our higher capacity numbers is the same thing we see every spring and summer: an increase in lost dogs and orphaned neonatal kittens."
According to DAS, although owner surrenders for dogs and cats have decreased by 40%, they are still urging for adoptions and fosters due to the seasonal increase in intake of both lost dogs and kittens.
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All pets are free to adopt and are spayed/neutered, current on vaccinations, and microchipped.
DAS is working to provide the entire community with access to in-person pet adoptions. Those interested can visit the shelter located at 1818 North Westmoreland Road or www.BeDallas90.org for more information.
