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Pets being returned to shelters after adoption boom
After a significant uptick in pet adoptions, shelters say people are starting to return them upon learning that they can’t take care of them.
ARLINGTON, Va. - The Animal Welfare League of Arlington says the coronavirus pandemic is a contributing factor to the facility’s overflow and the need to get pets adopted.
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Pet owners who have suffered unemployment, under employment or who are returning to work are facing challenges keeping their pets, leading to many pets bring transferred to the northern Virginia facility.
To address the issue the shelter offered half off adoption fees for dogs earlier this month.
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We’re told they’ve received an influx of pets to the facility due to transfers from area shelters.
We’re told the shelter can hold up to 250 animals and they’re nearing that number.
This time last year the Animal Welfare League of Arlington was experiencing droves of families adopting pets at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
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We’re told many of the recent pet transfers come from shelters in rural areas.
The facility says they’ve gone out of their way to try to help families keeps their pets by providing food and other resources.
They also point out this is the time of year where adoptions are down.
The Animal Welfare League of Arlington says they’re receiving an influx of pets from West Virginia, southern Virginia and many areas harder hit by the effects of the pandemic.
They strongly encouraging families to adopt dogs more than other animals right now.