Loneliness is starting to bubble over as locals continue a monthslong absence of their loved ones, extended family and friends.
With the stay at home order extended, anxieties have increased and with the company of only close knit family, people are looking elsewhere to fill the void of what used to be.
Their solution — adopting a pet.
“We actually decided to adopt because my fiancé and I both love animals, and he got attached to the cat his mom had at her place. Between that and also us only having each other for company due to the lockdown, we decided to adopt,” said Kristi Lloyd, a Santa Clarita Valley resident who recently adopted a cat.
For Lloyd, the process to adopt was surprisingly easy as she secured her cat online using Craigslist.
However, Lloyd and her fiancé were more careful than she would have normally been.
They took extra precautions before they picked up their cat.
They made sure that they applied hand sanitizer multiple times before picking up their new animal.
“We were a little worried. Both parties asked if they had any symptoms. Other than that, my fiancé and I used hand sanitizer several times while we were at the person’s place to get the cat. This was before face masks were really starting to become a must,” Lloyd said.
With only essential businesses staying open, there are many ways to adopt a pet online.
But for those who want a rescue, animals that have been mistreated badly or abandoned can be adopted from their local animal shelters — there comes the question — can you still adopt at any animal shelter during this time, and if you can, well, how?
The application is extensive now due to animal shelters taking extra precautions.
However, people are still welcome to adopt and foster through their website.
“I filled out tedious applications with more questions than I ever imagined answering when it came to adopting a dog,” said Angela Harris, a College of the Canyons employee who recently adopted a dog. “Questions about how much I was willing to spend on the dog’s medical care, what training methods I would use for the dog, how many hours a day the dog would spend outside and who would care for the dog if I went out of town.”
Although animal shelters are closed due to COVID-19, officers are still rescuing and collecting stray animals in the community, and with a simple process, you can easily adopt or foster a pet.
If you are interested in adopting an animal in Los Angeles County, you can visit animalcare.lacounty.gov to see animals available. During the stay-at-home order all adoptions will be by appointment only.
Call your local animal care center to schedule an appointment.
If you want to foster an animal instead, you can visit https://www.laanimalservices.com/adopt/ to see the various animal listings. A person can foster up to one to three animals. You can then email ani.volunteers@lacity.org with the animal’s ID number and your completed foster application Once the application is fully reviewed, the la animal services will call to schedule an appointment.
LA Animal Services are encouraging people, even once social distancing restrictions have ended, to continue to adopt and foster animals instead of shopping.
Many owners for their newly adopted pets are grateful that they were able to rescue, especially during a time like this.
“In the beginning of this process I really thought that I would never have the time to train a new dog,” said Lloyd, “But I do think this is the perfect time if anyone has been considering adopting an animal.”
Canyons News reporters Austin Chase, Cristina Lombardo, Joey Neugebauer and Sasha Strater contributed this article.
