![]() She said the shelter has also seen several dogs surrendered, especially from breeders, to the shelter because people’s circumstances have changed due to the pandemic.įoreman-Keuck said surrenders are also up for the Hope Animal Rescue of Iowa, with animals that were adopted through breeders and shelters in the past year. We have a waiting list of cats that are waiting to come to our shelter.” “We have cats in every nook and cranny of our shelter and so we don’t have room for more. “Right now, we have over 100 cats in our care, and we literally do not have any open kennels,” she said. Regardless of the moratorium, Soukup said the Humane Society of North Iowa is at capacity for certain animals and is running out of space as they continue to receive requests to take new animals. “There is the potential for it to break up a lot of families, two-legged and four-legged.” “I am concerned about the impact evictions will have on people and pets, both,” he said. (Photo courtesy of the Animal Rescue League of Iowa)Ĭolvin is also concerned that evictions could increase the amount of animals at the ARL, but he said he has yet to see an increase in people giving up their pets. A dog at the Animal Rescue League of Iowa participates in a training class. “We are concerned that we will continue to see increases in owner surrenders of pets with the eviction moratorium ending and workplaces changing from virtual attendance policies,” she said. Gagne said her shelter is seeing intake numbers reach pre-pandemic levels for the first time since early 2020 - something that could get worse this month. However, in the past few months, many shelters in Iowa are receiving requests from pet owners to surrender their animals. The American Veterinary Medical Association told the New York Times in May that there is no “evidence to show that shelters are seeing an increase” in the number of animals returned that were adopted in the last year. ![]() My hope is that, once the summer is over, there will be more of an increase in adoptions.” End of eviction moratorium could increase pet surrenders I think that’s part of the reason adoptions slowed down. “People just aren’t home, and they’re taking advantage of being able to go somewhere on vacation. “We’ve had several people come in and say that they’d love to adopt a cat, but they’re leaving for vacation,” she said. Animal Rescue League of Iowa CEO Tom Colvin said the adoption rate at the shelter is settling between 20 numbers.Ĭoffee Cats owner Mary Jankowski said her West Des Moines cat café has seen fewer adoptions in the summer months as Iowans go on vacations. “Some of the decrease in foster homes we attribute to individuals going back into the office and other outside the home activities and commitments as the pandemic lock-down requirements changed (or) lifted,” she said.įurry Friends Refuge Director Britt Gagne said her shelter has also seen a slowing in overall adoptions this summer. Vice President of Hope Animal Rescue of Iowa, Cheri Foreman-Keuck, said in an email to Iowa Capital Dispatch that adoption rates in 2020 jumped 29.5%, but the shelter is currently seeing a lack of homes willing to foster animals. Fewer adoptions in 2021įollowing a year of consistently high adoption rates, pets are being adopted at a significantly lower rate in 2021. The Humane Society of North Iowa reviews these applications and chooses the best home for the needs of an animal, Soukup said, so the adoption process became more time consuming in 2020. The number of applications has become a bit less because people have gotten back to their lives a little bit more.” “ … Our adoption rate is still steady, animals are still being adopted very quickly from our shelter. “In COVID times, we were getting 50 to 70 applications for an animal,” she said. The Humane Society of North Iowa saw applications triple for animals that needed to be adopted at the beginning of the pandemic, Executive Director Sybil Soukup said, but demand now is beginning to slow. Animal shelters across the state are seeing fewer pet adoptions as Iowans return to in-person events and work.Īnimal adoptions skyrocketed in early 2020 across the country as Americans began working and learning from home, with one in five households acquiring a new pet between March 2020 and May 2021, according to a survey by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
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