Pup-Demic: The Startling Amount of Animals Being Abandoned in the Aftermath of COVID-19 Pandemic

Adopting pets was all the rage when the pandemic first began, but some people are just now realizing owning a pet is more than a trend.

Shelters across the country saw people flocking to their businesses with the goal of adopting a dog to keep them company while they began to work or attend school from home. But as people return to their offices and schools permanently for the first time in two years, many pups are being left behind.

Aron Jones, executive director of Moms and Mutts Colorado Rescue, told USA TODAY, her organization “couldn’t rescue enough dogs to meet the demand” when the pandemic began. Now the amount of returns has doubled what they normally do in a year, with many of the animals being roughly 1-year-old. “The trends that we’ve seen are the people who adopted, either they didn’t have any other dogs or pets or they were first-time dog owners, and I think that was the biggest thing,” Jones said.

People did not realize, and still don’t realize the commitment it is to take care of a dog. Ashley Roberts, program manager for adoptions, and one who fosters and transports at Lucky Dog Animal Rescue in Arlington, Virginia, told BBC News it’s a hard adjustment for dogs that get returned, even if placed in a foster home.”They get used to a routine pretty quickly. Dogs get used to the family, they get used to their space, they get used to their routine and schedule they have,” Roberts said. “It’s really scary for them.”

Over the past year, there has been more than a 20% increase in dogs being surrendered (given back to shelters) and worse yet, abandoned. Since people are being called back to work or school, they have much less time to care for their furry friends. No time to walk and play, no time to actually spend time with an adopted animal.

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), close to one in five households brought a cat or dog into their home during the COVID 19 crisis. Now, many shelters find themselves unable to accept any returned pets, as they are at full capacity. Many other shelters in Los Angeles are nearing capacity as more and more people who adopted pets during the pandemic are dumping them as the world slowly stretches back to normal. “We received, prior to the pandemic five to ten inquiries per month for people who couldn’t care for their dogs anymore. That’s doubled since recent months,” says Chloe Esperiquette, development coordinator at Wags and Walks adoption center in Los Angeles. What happens to the pandemic pups that cannot be returned? Typically? They end up on the streets.

However, this isn’t just an issue unique to Los Angeles. In Dallas, there are many reports of people putting their animals in bags, and dropping them off, sometimes at a shelter, sometimes not. There are horror stories about people drowning kittens they could no longer take care of. The rise in animal returns and abandonments might make one truly question the ‘humanity’ of humans.

The Houston Police Department reports they rescued “a puppy, four dogs, a Chinchilla, a cat, and a mouse after they were left behind in the sweltering heat in deplorable living conditions.” one scorching July day in 2021. On another occasion, “there was a dog that was tethered on a very short leash and couldn’t sit down that was abandoned in a field,” which was rescued along with a cat. Another report revealed the case of an abandoned puppy suffering from hair loss that could not even stand up on its own, all because the owner did not want to or could not make time for the animal they adopted.

Teresa Chagrin, animal care and control issues manager at Peta Prime, said this is part of a larger problem. “We get new reports every single day about animals being abandoned, especially intentionally, and often after they are turned away from animal shelters,” Chagrin said. “This being turned away from animal shelters had started before COVID-19, but has since gotten worse.”

Unfortunately, the animals who end up in shelters don’t always meet a better fate.

In comparison to January 2020, January 2021 adoptions across the nation showed a decrease by nearly 25%. These falling numbers point to the idea that as soon as life begins to return to “normal,” the less people feel the need to have an animal’s companionship. According to zebra.com, 60% of adopted pets are no longer in their adoptive homes six months later after their initial adoption, and 20% have been returned back to their original shelter. On average, multiple shelters around the United States euthanize an estimated 670,000 dogs and 860,000 cats each year. Roughly 2.7 million dogs and cats are killed each year overall, simply because shelters are too full.

With the issue only getting worse, and no active efforts to protect our animals, it seems the future for a growing number of cats and dogs is life on the street.