With a lot of people back at work from the pandemic, it’s causing a lot of pets to be put in shelters. As workers head back into the office, they don’t have time to take care of their pets, causing some people to even abandon their pets.

This is causing a major problem for the animal shelters, and if they get too many pets, they will have to unfortunately euthanize them. This happens if the shelters get overloaded or don’t have enough space for them. They mainly euthanize the pets who have been there the longest to give the new pets more time to possibly find a home.

Animal shelters are trying their best to save all of these pets. Oftentimes, they have to transport these animals to different shelters to help save them. A rescue coordinator worker at the San Francisco Animal Care and Control says, “This is probably the most challenging time that I have experienced working in rescue and sheltering.” Though there are a lot of pets at shelters, some people don’t have a choice about keeping their pets. Many people have lost their houses and can no longer care for their pets.

Shelters mainly need people to adopt bigger and older animals. Due to their size, small animals have a better chance of getting rescued because they don’t require a lot of space or food. This impacts the bigger pets left at the shelter, making their chance of getting rescued low. Many shelters have lowered the prices for these larger pets so more people could rescue them.

Now, what can you do to help? Most animal shelters will accept cash donations, or you could buy food, treats, or toys for the animals. If you are looking for a pet, consider rescuing, and you will help save a life!