Animal shelter halts adoptions, offers fostering

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – A local pet adoption center says with school and businesses closed and people working from home, this may be the perfect time to bring in a potential family member.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, the Animal Shelter Society has stopped all adoptions. However, the Animal Care Manager Rebecca Hunt says this may be the perfect time to foster a dog.

“We opened up fostering to dogs. Normally we don’t foster our dogs out unless there’s a medical surgery recovery or there’s a fearful, shy dog that needs to go in but we figured because of this everyone’s homebound. Kind of gives you somebody not to be so lonely. Somebody to cuddle with on the couch just to be able to take for walks outside to get some fresh air but practice that social distancing as well.”

Hunt says there are plenty of dogs available for fostering. They’re listed on their Facebook page. She says fostering allows you to have a trial period if you’re considering adopting a pet.

“Some of them that have gone out are probably going to be foster-to-adopt. So that’s an option. If you wanted to — you’ve been looking at a dog but you’re not sure, be more than willing to send them out for a few weeks and you can bring him back or if it turns into — adoption we can definitely do that. It’s, you know, this is a good time to do it. Just to kind of feel what kind of dog would fit in your home. A small dog, a big dog, a hyper dog, a laidback dog. This is the time to find out — when you have time.”

Hunt says the shelter is considering allowing fostering for cats.