Fostering + Adopting Pets During COVID-19
Photos by Anne Landman
COVID-19 has brought us a lot of free time and, for the most part, that time has been spent in our homes. There may never be a better time to invest in a furry friend than today.
Grand Junction’s Roice-Hurst Humane Society was founded in 1963 and has been finding loving homes for both dogs and cats ever since. Jenna Kretschman, former Spoke+Blossom intern, has been a foster coordinator there for two years after she found and fostered a kitten through the shelter. Fostering allows animals to experience the comfort of a home instead of waiting in a shelter until adoption.
“At the beginning of the pandemic in March, we decided to send all of our animals into foster care so we could create room for emergency relinquishments and lighten the load for our staff, who were also social distancing,” Kretschman shares.
Within that first months, over 150 foster applications were filled out. One applicant was Anne Landman from Grand Junction, Colorado, whose dog of 13 years passed away in December.
“I missed having a dog so badly,” Landman says. “I did not want a full-time commitment to a dog so I decided to foster.”
Landman was able to foster two dogs, each were adopted. There was a three to four week period in March when the shelter announced they were out of dogs for fosterers. This is good news as the shelter was unable to be fully staffed due to social distancing, plus all the dogs were getting more attention in their temporary or even potentially permanent homes.
Companionship
Not only does fostering help out the dogs but people, too.
“Because we are in a time of social distancing, a lot of people really need that companionship,” Kretschman explains.
When the shelter called Landman to foster another dog, she gladly accepted. She accepted not only to foster this dog, but also to make her home his forever home.
“When I got to the third one, we couldn’t let him go,” Landman says. “He is just extraordinarily sweet, loving and well-behaved dog. The thought of somebody else adopting him I could not take it, so I decided it was the time to adopt.”
Since the adoption in May, Anne, her husband and their dog, O.D. are spending a lot of time on walks and playing around.
Roice Hurst Humane Society’s foster program is very flexible according to Landman. She says they provide all the essentials from dog food, treats and even vet appointments, if needed.
The program is set up, first and foremost, to give animals comfortable homes. This cannot be done without the help and hard work of volunteers. COVID-19 has given many people the time to help out in the community to foster pets and, like Anne, even adopting one.
“We have had a lot of community support,” Kretchman says. “A lot of people stepping up wanting to foster an animal, so we are just really grateful.”
