As people are urged to isolate themselves to help stem the spread of the virus, many are seeking to adopt cats and dogs to keep them company. In fact, shelters across the United States are actually running out of dogs to foster as the number of applications has skyrocketed in the past two weeks.
That’s right, In the New York City area, the epicenter of the outbreak, animal shelters are reporting that they are either all out of or almost out of cats and dogs after a surge in applications of as much as ten-fold.
Ordered to shelter in place at home, and both a little bored and a lot anxious, New Yorkers apparently see the four-legged friends as a way to calm frayed nerves. But New York is not the only city seeing a record number of animals getting a home.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said its Los Angeles office saw a 70 percent increase in animals going into foster care. And non-profit Best Friends said many of the shelters it partners with across the US report the same heartwarming phenomenon, with people showing up in droves to foster.
