Wednesday, March 17, 2021 | All About Pets The Berkshire Eagle | BerkshireEagle.com 12
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Berkshire Humane Society sees record demand for adoptions, pet food aid Neutering, spaying options limited, too, as local vets are overloaded BY NOAH HOFFENBERG
“Come in, fill out an application, let us get to know you. We work as a team. You call us and let us know you’re looking, and together we find you the right pet.”
Eagle sponsored content editor PITTSFIELD — Before the pandemic, pet
adoptions at the Berkshire Humane Society were trending in the right direction. “Our adoptions were up, and length of stays that the animals were in our building were dropping,” says John Perreault, executive director of the Berkshire Humane Society on the aptly named Barker Road. Then COVID-19 hit, and high demand went even higher. “All of a sudden, everybody who was now working from home, who formerly didn’t have the time for extracurricular activities, realized that it was the perfect time to bring a dog into their home,” says Perreault. “Our applications just quadrupled.” Likewise, requests for pet food aid have skyrocketed, says Perreault, up some 200 percent from a year ago. He says the Pittsfield shelter has received more than 1,000 requests for food assistance since the pandemic began. Getting appointments for spay or neuter surgeries has also been difficult, with the shelter having to devote a staffer to pet surgery placement, he says; veterinarian offices are swamped, too. Perreault hasn’t witnessed demand like this, even with a career in animal welfare that dates back to the 1980s.
Recently reopened its doors The shelter recently reopened its doors to visitors March 2 after closing around the holidays because of a surge in COVID-19 cases across the region; throughout the pandemic, it remained open by appointment. Its Catwalk Boutique thrift shops in Lenox and Great Barrington just reopened, too; proceeds at these sites go directly to shelter operations. Purradise, the shelter’s satellite feline adoption and boarding facility in Great Barrington, will reopen March 30. Because of the demand here, Berkshire Humane Society transports dogs to the Berkshires from other partner shelters that aren’t as flush with applicants or that wrestle with
— John Perreault, executive director, Berkshire Humane Society SUBMITTED PHOTO
Canine adoption counselor Sam Klass gets a lapful of Cocoa during a recent day at the Berkshire Humane Society. pet overpopulation. However, during the lockdown and other periods in the past year, there were months where there were no transports, says Perreault, which further contributes to a backlog of applicants.
‘Right back out the door’ “I have so many applications, that as soon as dogs were coming in, we were able to turn them around right back out the door,” he says. If you were to go on the society’s website today, you’d see a passel of pups waiting to be adopted. But, these are only a fraction of the dogs that pass through the shelter’s doors. “On the canine side, we receive more dogs than you’ll ever see on the website, and that’s because as they come in, we know people are looking for them. When we think we might have a match, we make an appoint-
ment for them and then show them the appropriate animal. During that time, the animal isn’t available for anybody else,” says Perreault. Most adoptions are done by appointment. If you do see an animal on the shelter’s website, it does mean that it is available, he added.
Few spaying, neutering options Getting animals into homes efficiently is great for everyone involved, he notes. But, all the adoptions have also spawned another logjam. “It’s very difficult to get cats spayed and neutered at this time and moment. Along with this big explosion of people who want to adopt animals, and we have veterinarians that are struggling to keep up with the de-
mand,” says Perreault. The same pandemic pressure is affecting veterinary offices, too, as their existing clients have increased their pet visits. “Nationwide, there is a shortage of veterinarians at the moment. You’ve got all these animals out there, and people want to do the right thing and bring them, but it’s hard to get an appointment,” notes Perreault. Normally, local vets perform all of the shelter’s spays and neuters; they also provide free health exams to incoming shelter animals. “All of a sudden, they can’t see their own clients, so all that extra stuff they are doing for us is much more difficult to do than in the past,” says Perreault. “We have a few veterinarians that are struggling to help us out as much as they can, but at the end of the day, we’re still looking to get more
