INDIANAPOLIS — Local animal shelters and care organizations are feeling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and they need your help.
Leaders with Indianapolis Animal Care Services say they are almost at capacity. While this is typically a busy time of year as people look to add a pet to their family around the holidays, this year has been slower this year due to the pandemic.
“We have seen overall a decline in adopters,” Roxie Randall, manager of community outreach, said.
They recently asked the public to delay surrenders as well.
“The reason behind that is our staff is currently splitting in half and into different teams to prevent us having to shut down completely in the event that there is a positive test that happens," Randall said. "So with us only having half the staff on both of our schedules it decreases obviously the number of people in the building, but also if we have too many animals it decreases our quality of care. We don't want to decrease our quality of care.”
Randall also encourages people looking for a new pet to consider adoption rather than going through a breeder.
“It is possible to find your perfect ideal breed or whatever personality you're looking for at a shelter or a rescue,” Randall said.
IACS is offering free adoptions right now. They also have a “cuddle before you commit” program, which lets you take a pet home for two weeks to see if they are a good fit before you adopt them.
