Cooper was having a hard time finding a home until the pandemic hit. Now he has been adopted. (Photo courtesy of Scituate Animal Shelter)

Many animal lovers in Massachusetts have provided foster care for pets to keep them company during the pandemic shutdown, and providing a temporary home for the orphaned pets. The foster program at Medfield Animal Shelter (MAS) has increased by about 10 percent, according to the shelter’s manager, Marlene Simmons. The same increase also occurred in the Scituate Animal Shelter (SAS). Maryann Regan, the executive director, said that they have less animals to take care of inside the shelter during the lockdown, after many animals were taken to foster homes. The animal surrender requests also decreased during the lockdown, she said.

Open visits to the public in animal shelters were put on hold in the state since the beginning of the lockdown. In the meantime, staff and volunteers at shelters continued working, and acted as a bridge, taking care of both pets and pet owners.

SAS rolled out programs focusing on community assistance during the coronavirus outbreak, helping pet owners get through this difficult time so they do not have to give up their pets due to the pandemic. “Our mission also states that we will help animals and the people who love them,” Regan said.

The Phone Pal Program is aimed at building connections with senior pet owners who are isolated at home. Volunteers at SAS check in with seniors on a weekly basis that signed up for the program beforehand or were taken in through community outreach. Volunteers have conversations with them, or offer help with grocery shopping or doing things online. “Some of them didn’t even need anything,” Regan said. “They just were a little lonely and needed a friendly voice, and people love to talk about their pets, of course, everyone does.”

A free pet food pantry was set up by SAS in the community since March. “24 hours a day, seven days a week, no questions asked, no matter where you’re from, no matter who you are,” Regan said of the pantry.

The program kicked off with food offered from the shelter, and donations from people keep the pantry stocked. “Some days it’s completely full, sometimes it’s completely empty, which to me is a good thing it means that the community is finding it very, very useful,” Regan said. “The second we asked for something, we get it, because the community is truly amazing. It truly restores my hope in humanity.”

The Animal Rescue League of Boston (ARL) promoted a program called Keep Pets S.A.F.E during the lockdown, which delivers pet food and other essential pet supplies to clients’ homes, according to Catherine Knapp, ARL Director of Animal Care and Operations.

“We were still here in the shelter, receiving animals in critical need and providing veterinary care, in addition to taking care of all the animals in the shelter, and sending as many as possible out to our large, caring network of foster homes,” she wrote in an email to Sampan.

As Massachusetts gradually reopens the economy, animal shelters are making adjustments following new protocols and guidelines updated by the state and local governments, in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The adoption centers at ARL opened on June 2 by appointments only. The phone lines of reserving appointments started on May 28, and it has been extremely busy, according to Knapp. Since reopening, their available appointments have been fully booked and many animals were already sent to a home.

“We are lucky to have a large team of more than 700 very committed volunteers who are always willing to pitch in when necessary,” Knapp wrote.

Appointment-only adoption meetings are also conducted in MAS, and a maximum of two family members can attend the meeting, according to Simmons. At the same time, they start to slowly re-engage volunteers, making it possible to gradually take in more pets.

Nothing can be guaranteed when it comes to making plans, however, and Simmons said they will not be conducting open adoption hours anytime soon.

Besides closing open visits and setting appointment only meetings to practice social distancing, animal shelters are adapting and exploring new operation modes. Regan from SAS said they are developing a kind of new routine.

Traditionally, if pet owners needed help to put their pet up for adoption, but preferred not to send it to a shelter, then the shelter would help post the information on social media, but not be liable for it. However, during the stay-at-home order, if someone contacted SAS and needed to find their pet a new home, SAS accepted the animal into their system. They then promoted the animal on their platforms, and took care of things like medical care until finding the right adopter.

“It was like an exaggerated form of something we’ve done before,” Regan said. “We might actually proceed with that a little bit at some level in the future.”