The COVID-19 pandemic has empowered many animal welfare organizations to make operational changes such as the introductions of telemedicine, virtual adoptions and a huge uptick in fostering. Will we go back to the way things were? Today, Front Street Animal Shelter tells us what they did with their surplus of foster caregivers. Read the first and second in the series. 

Sometimes when you have too much of a good thing, it’s good to share the wealth, right?

That’s exactly what Front Street Animal Shelter did when they found themselves with an overflow of potential foster caregivers in March. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the shelter opted to close down many of its services. To reduce the number of staff members coming into shelter and to reduce in-person contact with the community, Front Street put out a foster plea on Instagram.

And boy, the community SHOWED UP! Over 900 people had signed up to foster! More than 200 dogs and cats are currently in foster care, with new arrivals quickly being moved into foster homes.

Not wanting to disappoint the foster-less fosters, Front Street was able to refer the list of fosters to partner shelters. As discussed in yesterday’s post about engaging foster caregivers, this speaks to Front Street’s willingness to share their good fortune with others.

Whether it’s two shelters partnering up for the first time or a member of the community opening their home to a foster cat for the first time, COVID-19 is allowing (and in some cases), forcing us to rethink animal sheltering. We think that is a pretty amazing silver lining.