NORTHEAST, Wis. (NBC 26) -- The pandemic brought an influx of families wanting to adopt a new dog or cat to northeast Wisconsin shelters in 2020. And while some had concerns that those pets would be returned once we got back to normal, some local shelter managers say, that didn't turn out to be the case.
At the beginning of the dog days of the pandemic, animal rescue shelters were concerned, people would adopt pets for all the wrong reasons, and not just to provide a forever home.
"People were working from home, they saw it as an ideal time to have a companion in their home," says Cindy Flauger the Executive Director of the Neenah Animal Shelter.
Flauger, says in 2020 pets were being adopted at a phenomenal rate.
"We actually had a hard time keeping animals in the shelter which is a good thing," adds Flauger.
This was a situation that was playing out at animal shelters across northeast Wisconsin. But across the country, many were worried about what would happen when the new pet owners went back to work.
"At a national level that's kind of what we were being told, that when this whole thing shakes out there is probably going to be to be a lot of returns to the shelter," says Vicki Prey of the Fox Valley Humane Association.
Prey, says nearly all of her organizations' remaining pets at the shelter were adopted or fostered early on in the pandemic as well.
"We were able to, for the most part, clear the shelter," says Prey.
And over a year removed from the pet adoption craze that hit the country, shelter managers here in northeast Wisconsin are happy to report that the pets adopted from them, are not making their way back to shelters at an alarming rate.
"People needed their animals and they continue to. Once you get attached, I don't know, I have fur babies, I can't imagine any reason for needing to let them go somewhere else," adds Flauger.
"We've never seen so many stray or loose animals going back home again, as we've seen during the pandemic. That tells us that this community is extremely pet orientated and pet friendly," adds Prey.
The Fox Valley Humane Association is offering support for pet owners having a hard time keeping their pets right now because of the cost related to their care. The association has started a free pet food pantry and a low-cost, no-cost, vet clinic to help folks keep their new pets at home.
