Animals Today May 2, 2020. Pet adoptions and fostering during the pandemic. What’s happening at shelters and at res...

Lori begins by welcoming Larissa Wohl, resident pet rescue expert of Hallmark Channel’s “Home and Family.” Is now, during the pandemic quarantine, a good time to adopt and/or foster pets? Larissa emphatically answers yes, but there is a concern that as life normalizes and people return to school and work, an increase in shelter surrenders may occur. So potential adopters, carefully think through your decisions. Also, when we resume our routines, which bring us away from our homes, pets may experience stress and nervousness from the change. Larissa shares practical tips to help avoid and alleviate dog and cat separation anxiety. Larissa also shares ideas to mentally and physically stimulate both dogs and cats during this extended time of confinement.
So what is happening with the homeless dogs and cats at shelters and rescues around the country? Are the shelters more or less crowded than usual? To explore questions like these, Lori next speaks with Kim Alboum, Outreach and Policy Engagement Director for the Humane Society of the United States. Kim is pleased to report that pet loving communities throughout the country have stepped up to relieve potential strains and overcrowding of shelters and rescues. Adoptions are up, pet fostering is up, and shelter and rescue populations are way down. Shelters and rescues have begun loosening control of the adoption process to foster parents, and its working! Plus, leveraging electronic tools like virtual meetings and home tours is making the procedures effective and safe. Alboum believes that much of the new collaborative relationships we are seeing now will benefit homeless pets after the pandemic fades away.
Our final guest of the show is our second visit with Simeon Hyman from ProShares, an investment company that manages a pet industry focused exchange-traded fund, PAWZ. The fund is showing resilience in the overall stock market environment, and Simeon explains why.

Empty shelter. Photo: Riverside County Animal Services