HOPKINTON, Mass. — The “I have to have a pet” Covid boom is long over, and animal shelters know it.
“Right now, especially Massachusetts, is seeing an all-time high for dogs in need of a home,” said Emma Wailgum, adoption counselor for the Baypath Humane Society in Hopkinton.
It’s not so much that the shelters are stocked with pets from the Covid-19 wave abandoned by owners, it’s more the ancillary effects of the pandemic they’re dealing with.
“A lot of the problems that came from Covid also had to do with vets closing and fewer appointments,” Wailgum said. “There were fewer spay and neuter appointments, which led to overpopulation of dogs.”
An annual way to try to ease the burden on shelters is National Adopt-A-Shelter Pet Day, which has been held every April 30 for more than 40 years.
Among the candidates for adoption at the Baypath Humane Society is JJ, “a big boy,” Wailgum said.
Then there’s Miss Betty, “our senior,” he added.
Winnie and Leo, who endured a long journey to America to escape a horrible fate, also need a good home.
“These dogs come from the meat trade in South Korea,” said Maddy Berthold, who handles marketing for Baypath. “Our biggest thing with dogs in the meat trade is that a lot of them were in cages for years of their lives. So they don’t know people.”
Winnie and Leo seem to be adjusting well to the people and the American kitchen, with both sniffing out a pile of empty pizza boxes left over from lunch.
Baypath tries to make adoptions as easy as possible.
“We’re not a rescue that says, ‘You need a fenced yard, this and that,” Wailgum said. “We call it a matchmaking process. Let’s see what you can do, what you’re looking for, so we can try to fit a good personality into your home.”
Because of this process, Baypath, and several other shelters contacted by Boston 25 News, take in prospective pet owners by appointment only. This often helps adopters find the dog or cat that seems the best fit.
But the relationship doesn’t end there.
“We’re a support system for them,” Wailgum said. “We just want them to give the dog a chance.”
Shelter workers and volunteers sometimes see the heartbreaking results of abuse and neglect. But they also witness those healing moments when a pet and a person begin to bond.
“Sometimes you just open your car door and the dog just walks right in and you’re like, ‘Yeah, they’re going to be fine,'” Wailgum said.
If you are interested in making an appointment to adopt a cat or dog, visit the Baypath Humane Society website at www.baypathhumane.org.
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