A call went out from an animal shelter in California’s Central Valley for emergency foster homes for their pets and officials said they’ve been “floored” by the response amid the coronavirus.
“We rely on the public to adopt,” Nick Cullen, director of Kern County Animal Services told the Californian in a piece published Wednesday. “When we don’t have that avenue we’re left with no option to get animals out of the shelter.” (RELATED: REPORT: Coachella Potentially Rescheduled To October Due To Coronavirus Fears)
“It’s not healthy to have an animal sit in a cage for 30 days,” he added. (RELATED: Pearl Jam Postpones North American Tour Over Growing Coronavirus Concerns)
According to the shelter’s Facebook post on Thursday, more than 100 pets had been put in temporary homes with the use of a drive-thru pickup event put in place earlier this week in response to stopping the spread of COVID-19.
“It has been a busy few days, we want to thank everyone who has taken a foster pet home,” the FB post read. “We have sent 104 animals to foster including a pig. We will post pets still in need this evening, stay tuned for puppers in need.”
“What we’ve seen from the community is like nothing we’ve seen before,”Cullen explained. “We’re floored with the response.”
“We’re going to do this as long as we need it,” he added.
However, after Governor Gavin Newsom issued an emergency “shelter in place” for the entire state of CA, the shelter said they have had to stop the drive-thru operations, despite the fact they still have animals in need of homes during the pandemic.
“Hi All, we will be cancelling tomorrow’s foster pickups due to the Governor’s shelter in place recommendations for all California residents,” another post on FB read. “Animal Services staff will care for each pet in our shelters and keep everyone posted on their progress.”