Photo by Tyler Nelson
It’s 2021 and looking back over the past nine months, it’s difficult to find any real winners. For the pets of those stuck working from home, things are a little different.
The Wisconsin Humane Society, who just won the 2020 Best of Milwaukee Award for Animal Welfare Organization, is feeling that victory for our furry companions.
“For both people and animals, having a pet right now has been a life saver,” say Angela Speed, vice president of communications at the Wisconsin Humane Society. “We actually ran out of available cats!”
Speed says they did run out of available animals once during the early stages of the pandemic, and that’s a good thing. In the beginning of the pandemic, they put out a call for help from the public for more fosters to keep the population down in the kennels. Fostering has become an additional sheltering option for the organization and about half of their animals have been adopted through that program since March.
The webpage for the foster program also saw a huge spike in visitors since its launch in August. Speed checks in on the Google analytics periodically and noticed the average monthly page visits go from around 20,000 to about 300,000 over this winter.
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The humane society has remained open for animals in need during the pandemic. They’ve distributed over 50,000 pounds of pet food to families in need. They’ve also brought back their vaccine clinics, by appointment only, which is one thing they had to hold off on in the beginning stages of the shutdown.
“We’ve been floored by the community support,” says Speed. “Whether that’s engaging with us on social media, adoptions or donations. The community has really stepped up. I know that a lot of people are really struggling right now and I could not be more grateful for that support.”
The only thing wrong with all of this extra time at home with our pets, is the added stress when we have to leave, and separation anxiety is a big issue. The humane society offers help for coping with that, among other common problems, on their website. They also have a 24-hour behavior hotline for pet owners.
“We started one really popular new training program: a puppy drop-off,” says Speed. “If you have a puppy from eight to sixteen weeks, you can drop them off for socialization and learning foundational skills. It’s like a day care with an expert dog trainer.”
Pet ownership isn’t for everyone, but if you’re considering adding a member to your family, think about doing it from the Wisconsin Humane Society. They do accept returns if things don’t end up working out, and they don’t consider that a loss. Their return-rate remains low hasn’t changed over the course of the pandemic, and with all they have to offer pet owners, it’s not surprising they’re finding a lot of “forever homes.”
