PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Many animal shelters throughout the country, including in Philadelphia, are close to or at capacity. Now, three animal care organizations in the city are joining forces to draw awareness to a volunteer program that helps save lives.
There are claims that the reason the shelters are full is because many people who brought pets home last year during the isolation of the pandemic are surrendering them because they're not home as much.
However, according to Pennsylvania SPCA CEO Julie Klim, there's no evidence to support that. "This is not what we're seeing at all," she said.
Klim said there is a drastic decline in fosters — folks who volunteer to temporarily care for homeless dogs and cats before they're adopted — and that could be because people don't have as much time on their hands.
"The PSPCA, ACCT Philly and Philly PAWS are the three largest [animal care] organizations in Philadelphia and we all work together very closely," she explained.
"We meet every week to talk about the pet population in the city and what we can do to work together, and we saw that each of us were experiencing the exact same thing, a reduction in the number of available foster homes that we rely on so heavily."
The organizations launched a website to help get more people on board. Their goal is to sign up 500 fosters this summer.
Experts say fostering helps in a number of ways. It could reduce the animals stress and make them more adoptable. Fosters can care for a kitten that is sick or too young to be adopted just yet. They could also free up a spot in a shelter for another animal, potentially saving a life.
Klim said they would work with fosters to match them with animals that fit their lifestyle.
"It's very flexible, it's not an unlimited commitment," assured Klim. "Even if they have one or two weeks to give a shelter pet a break, that really helps us out a lot."