With the rise of the coronavirus pandemic around the world, many businesses have been forced to close up shop to try and contain its spread. Unfortunately, many animal shelters do not have the luxury of closing their doors and sending staff home to ride the virus out. The animals still have to be cared for, so many shelters hope to foster some of the pets out to help make its job easier and safer.

The response across the country has been nothing short of extraordinary.

The San Antonio community steps up to the plate in a big way

The City of San Antonio Animal Care Services in Texas is one of these shelters. Taking in as many as 30,000 animals per year, the organization runs one of the largest municipal shelters in the U.S. In the face of calls for isolation during the rampant rise of COVID-19, the shelter has been racing to get as many of its animals fostered as possible. Surprisingly, the community stepped up to help them meet their goal.

“Since [March 15] we have received 254 foster applications (normally we receive 60 a month),” Lisa Norwood, public relations and outreach manager at City of San Antonio Animal Care Services, told The Dodo. “So, we’ve received more than four times the number of interested fosters in two weeks than we do in four months.”

Almost all of the animals at the shelter are adopted or fostered out

In March alone, the shelter had over 600 pets adopted. Also, they were able to place 118 pets in foster homes and over 900 were taken in by local rescue partners. This left only about 150 animals in the shelter, cutting the number of animals in the shelter on a typical day to one-third. This has reduced the burden on shelter staff, allowing them to care for the remaining animals more safely.

Parts of the facility are now empty

The organization’s adoption and fostering efforts were so successful that entire buildings at the facility are now empty. “One of the things that we have seen is that during any crisis there’s always a rise in compassion,” Norwood said.

City of San Antonio Animal Care Services

Their goal is to make sure that all of the animals within the city of San Antonio receive responsible care. The organization does this through education, enforcement, and partnering with members of the community, which in the current case has been very successful. For more on how you can adopt or donate, visit the organization’s Website or Facebook page.

This is happening all over the country

And it is not just at City of San Antonio Animal Care Services that this is taking place. Shelters all across the U.S. are experiencing an unseen level of love and support from the community, as residents have stepped in to foster or adopt many more pets than usual. If only people were like this all of the time.

Check out the video below for a glimpse of what playtime is like for the dogs at the City of San Antonio Animal Care Services shelter.

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Source: Facebook/City of San Antonio Animal Care Services

H/T: The Dodo