More Cats And Dogs Are Finding Their Forever Homes During The Pandemic

The number of pets being adopted has reportedly soared as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

While it's a hard push to find any good news at the moment, this announcement from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home certainly managed to put a smile on our faces.

The shelter announced that it had seen a massive increase in the amount of pets being re-homed since the virus was declared a pandemic.

In the week of 16th - 22nd March, 86 dogs and 69 cats were re-homed from Battersea - that's more than 150 animals in total!

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To give you an idea of how impressive that number is, less than half as many animals were adopted from Battersea in the same week last year.

Then, a grand total of 42 dogs and 29 cats found their forever homes in comparison.

One of the sweet animals that found a home as a result of all this mess was four-year-old Tulip, who had been at Battersea for 110 days before she was adopted.

Tulip was rescued as a stray, which left her with some anxieties that the expert team helped her work through.

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home)

But now she's finally got another shot at happiness after a new owner spotted her and decided to take her in.

Then there was Smudge, the 10-year-old black and white cat who also found a loving family after two weeks at Battersea.

Battersea's Head of Operations, Rob Young, said: 'We want to thank all these new owners for thinking of rescue pets at such a challenging time.

"All three of our Battersea centres are now closed to the public, but many of our animals are now in loving homes or out on temporary foster with our staff and volunteers.

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home)

"Battersea are still caring for around 100 animals at our three centres and working hard to ensure each and every dog and cat continues to get the treatment, care, love, play and interaction they need."

It's unsurprising that people have chosen now to welcome a pet into their homes - after all, we don't know how long we're going to be tasked with staying inside...

Of course, it's important that people remember a new pet isn't just for lockdown.

Much like Dogs Trust warn at Christmas, all new pet owners must keep in mind that when all of this blows over, the animal will still be part of your family for *life*.

Topics: Dog, News, Pets, Animals, Cats

Joanna Freedman

Joanna is a journalist at Tyla with a particular interest in highlighting women's issues and telling inspiring first person stories. She's also their resident foodie, and loves covering exciting new beauty launches, too. Contact her at [email protected].

@joannafreedman