By Jason Stephenson
Everybody loves pets, right? Have you ever stopped to think about how you get your own adorable creature to bond with? Perhaps it’s time you should.
On the surface, a pet shelter just seems like a place where you can adopt a dog, cat, or other domesticated animal. However, many of us aren’t aware that every single day, a group of people with extremely kind hearts put in the effort to find animals who have no home and help them look for a family who can take care of said animals.
About the shelter
The Tracy Animal Shelter is part of a group of pet shelters located in San Joaquin Country dedicated to providing the best help for the pets who are in the process of being adopted.
“Every single day, every kennel is cleaned,…we feed and provide treats to the animals, we work on different mental and emotional stimulations for all the dogs, and we take them out physically [for walks],” said Britney Pasquale, the supervisor of the pet kennels at the animal shelter, who has held that position since 2008.
Going to the dogs
Spending time with two of the caretakers at the Animal Shelter, Jill Sulivan and Amenda Sena, any hopes a visitor could have regarding the quality of support that the pets in need have received in the location were realized.
After giving the Shelter’s lovable husky Princess some high-quality, healthy dog treats, Sena then lets the mutt have all the time and space to play with her, ensuring that Princess stays healthy and strong. Sullivan, meanwhile, gently rubs a soft shampoo onto the dogs who require a warm bath, which allows them to have a refined, sparkly coat of fur.
Pasquale said that the best part of taking care of the dogs and cats at the shelter is being able to help them develop strong bonds so that they will be able to feel safe when they eventually end up with a new owner who genuinely cares about them.
Kronos’ story
One recent example of a rescued pet was Kronos, a black-and-white Pitbull who came to the animal shelter feeling very timid and weak. The shelter spent weeks building up his confidence, and he was actually returned once after the previous family who owned him realized that they didn’t have the time to give him enough attention. Thankfully, though, this story had a happy ending, as he finally found a family who was able to keep him on March 12.
The pandemic’s effect on the Animal Shelter
Also contrary to what you might believe, pet shelters are one of the few businesses that have actually thrived even more after the Covid-19 pandemic started than before it happened.
Though all the shelters had to implement a requirement for people to schedule an appointment if they want to look for an animal to adopt, the actual number of adoptions increased by 16% from 2020 to 2021.
Pasquale attributes this to the recently increased need for companionship at home after the pandemic put major restrictions on where people could go.
“[The pandemic] was certainly unfortunate…for our country and the world,” she said. “But we did see some upsides through it.”
In fact, the only major concern that Pasquale has with the Tracy Animal Shelter is being caused by the pandemic coming to an end. Not only is she worried that business will plummet, but she is also perturbed at the possibility that all her colleagues’ hard work would be in vain, because there’s a chance that the people who adopted pets during the pandemic will soon run out of time to take care of them now that they’re slowly but surely resuming their everyday lives, thus leading to a lot of returns.
However, Pasquale is still optimistic about the situation.
“We want to continue growing those bonds and relationships [between the pets and the people who adopted them],” she states.
Animal shelters matter. Next time you think they are all insignificant, think again.
