Houston-area animal shelters in urgent need of fosters due to coronavirus threat
News // Houston & Texas
Rebecca Hennes
Houston-area animal shelters are in urgent need of fosters after reporting increased intakes, fewer adoptions and fewer fosters as the coronavirus makes its way across the region.
Courtesy Best Friends Animal SocietyShow MoreShow Less
PHOTOS: PETS OF THE WEEK
>>>See more for pets currently available for adoption at the Harris County Animal Shelter...
5of24Sosa (A551740) is a 3-year-old, female, brown tabby domestic shorthair cat; Five-week-old puppies Spam (A551869) and his brother Jam (A551877); Soy (A551847) is a 1-year-old, female, German Shepherd; and Missy (A551940) is a 3-year-old, female, Alaskan Husky available for adoption from the Harris County Animal Shelter, in Houston,Tuesday, March 17, 2020.Karen Warren/Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
7of24Sylvie (A551884) is a 1-year-old, female, Labrador Retriever mix available for adoption from the Harris County Animal Shelter, in Houston,Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Sylvie was brought into the shelter as a stray.Karen Warren/Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
8of24Missy (A551940) is a 3-year-old, female, Alaskan Husky mix available for adoption from the Harris County Animal Shelter, in Houston,Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Missy was brought in as a stray.Karen Warren/Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
10of24Soy (A551847) is a 1-year-old, female, German Shepherd mix available for adoption from the Harris County Animal Shelter, in Houston,Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Soy is a shy girl who was brought into the shelter as an owner surrender.Karen Warren/Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
11of24Bee Bop (A552100) is a 12-week-old, male, back/white Labrador Retriever mix available for adoption from the Harris County Animal Shelter, in Houston,Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Bee Bop is a sweet energetic pup who was brought in as a stray.Karen Warren/Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
13of24Five-week-old puppies Spam (A551869) foreground, is the spokesman for his brother Jam (A551877) who are available for adoption from the Harris County Animal Shelter, in Houston,Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Adorable and cuddly are all you need to know!Karen Warren/Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
14of24Sonnie (A551885) is a 2-year-old, male, yellow/white Siberian Husky mix available for adoption from the Harris County Animal Shelter, in Houston,Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Sonnie was brought into the shelter as a stray and is very sweet!Karen Warren/Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
16of24Dixie (A5552268) is a 3-year-old, female, brown Labrador Retriever mix available for adoption from the Harris County Animal Shelter, in Houston,Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Dixie was brought in as a stray.Karen Warren/Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
17of24Rita (A552262) is a 4-year-old, female, Labrador Retriever mix available for adoption from the Harris County Animal Shelter, in Houston,Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Rita came in as a stray, but is a very shy new mama. Her litter is no longer with her, but she is a sweet girl. She loves women, men, children and wants to be the light of someone's eye!Karen Warren/Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
19of24Paco (A551930) is a 1-year-old, male, black/brown Labrador Retriever mix available for adoption from the Harris County Animal Shelter, in Houston,Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Paco came into the shelter as a stray. He's a little bit timid, but wants to open up to a new family!Karen Warren/Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
20of24Sosa (A551740) is a 3-year-old, female, brown tabby domestic shorthair cat available for adoption from the Harris County Animal Shelter, in Houston,Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Sosa was brought into the shelter as an owner surrender who is super sweet, but likely her owner kept her outside. She does well in a carrier, and loves women and men. She is tested negative for FELV.Karen Warren/Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
22of24Hannibal (A552171) is a 4-year-old, male, brown tabby domestic shorthair available for adoption from the Harris County Animal Shelter, in Houston,Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Hannibal was surrendered by his owners, but is reported to love men and women, is letterbox trained and travel well in a carrier.Karen Warren/Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
23of24Blonde (A552169) is a 3-year-old, orange and white male, domestic shorthair cat available for adoption from the Harris County Animal Shelter, in Houston,Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Blonde was brought into the shelter as an owner surrender, and is letterbox trained and travels well in a carrier.Karen Warren/Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
While the spread of the novel coronavirus has impacted nearly all facets of everyday life, from bar and club closures, restaurant restrictions, school district closures, less traffic on usually crowded Houston roads, churches going digital, the homeless, the economy and even real estate, one huge and vulnerable population has been affected as well - Houston's shelter animals.
Houston-area animal shelters are reporting increased intakes, fewer adoptions and fewer fosters as the coronavirus makes its way across the region, according to officials Best Friends Animal Society, an animal welfare organization working that advocates for no-kill policies. Coupled together, these factors have led to area shelters facing near capacity levels that could lead to dangerous overcrowding.
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Another result of the coronavirus is that some shelter's out-of-state transport partners are no longer accepting animals, Kerry McKeel, Houston Program Manager for Best Friends Animal Society, said in a statement.
"Our local municipal shelters see high volumes of animals come through their doors every day. Harris County Animal Shelter and BARC have a combined intake of nearly 40,000 animals each year," McKeel said. "One way we support lifesaving efforts is by working collaboratively with them to transport animals to out-of-state rescue partners that have the desire and capacity to bring more animals into their programs."
This is adversely impacting live outcome rates at area shelters, she added.
"During times of isolation or uncertainty, a lot of people don't want to adopt animals because [they] don't want to take on an additional commitment to your family," said Dr. Karen Wu, Zoonosis Veterinarian for Harris County Public Health/Harris County Animals Shelter. "So we are having decreased adoptions and which combined with increased intakes leads us to a population problem."
Wu, whose work involves informing the public of rabies cases, serving as a disease expert for veterinarians and tracking shelter disease, said overcrowding at shelters can lead to increased risk of disease among animals.
"We always have a lot of animals and when you have a stressful situation the animals can get sick," Wu said.
All of this has created an urgent need for fosters. Now, Houston-area shelters are taking several steps to combat high intakes and increase fostering during the coronavirus pandemic.
Facilities such as the Harris County Animal Shelter and Fort Bend County Animal Shelter are offering curbside foster services that allow residents from surrounding counties to pick up a pup without leaving their cars. Fort Bend is also offering virtual adoption tours in addition to reduced prices on adoptions.
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BARC Animal Shelter is currently offering 50 percent off the price of adoptions through the end of March and is in need of crate donations for fosters. The shelter has cancelled offsite adoptions and volunteer orientations and is reducing intake hours to three days a week. The Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals (SPCA) announced it will accept visitors and potential adopters by appointment only through March 31.
Across town in Montgomery County, the county shelter is taking measures to limit intakes and is suspending non-emergency calls. Conroe's animal shelter shortly followed suit and has locked its doors to allow only two to four people in at a time and is limiting its number of intakes.
Harris County's Animal Shelter has not made any drastic changes such as reducing intake hours, according to Eddie Miranda of the Harris County Public Health. Miranda said the shelter has been fluctuating between 250 to 300 animal intakes over the last week or so and is expecting to see another spike soon. The shelter can comfortably care for around 200 animals, he said.
"Fostering is always a bigger challenge for us," Miranda said. "If residents have that option to care f0r an animal temporarily, we can work with them to assist them."
Aside from helping save a life and alleviate a shelter, fostering an animal will keep residents busy while they are self-isolating or quarantined.
"There is nothing better than working from home with a furry co-worker or sharing your staycation with a companion sure to be a source of entertainment and companionship," McKeel said. "If you have thought of adopting or fostering now is the time to do it."
As of late Monday night, there are a reported 29 confirmed cases in the Houston area and the first reported death in Texas. Despite reports of a dog in Hong Kong testing "weak positive" for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, pets are not considered a source of infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"The current working stance of most public health officials is that COVID-19 cannot be transmitted from animals to people and domestic animals are not a risk," Wu said.
Wu said while it is widely believed that animals, more specifically bats, are the origin of the novel coronavirus, "the verdict is still out." Despite that so much is still unknown about COVID-19, Wu stressed that the Hong Kong case is so far the only known incident involving an animal with COVID-19, and that it's unlikely for a shelter pet to transmit the disease to a foster or potential adopter.
"We really want to assure people with pets that their relationships with their dogs and cats should remain unchanged and it's not only safe to keep them in the home, but also beneficial, as they can serve as a source of comfort during a crisis," McKeel said. "The companionship of pets has been shown to reduce stress and lower anxiety, helping people to feel calmer and more secure when the news from the outside world is distressing."
To adopt or temporary, emergency foster an animal in your community contact:
BARC (City of Houston): 348 dogs, 37 cats need homes
Email: barcfoster@houstontx.gov
Harris County Animal Shelter (Unincorporated Harris County): 70 cats, 283 dogs need homes
Email:Foster@phs.hctx.net
Montgomery Animal Shelter: 63 cats and 420 dogs need homes
Email: Foster.coordinator@mctx.org
Fort Bend County Animal Services: 136 animals need homes
***Offering curbside pick-up to residents, as well as Dog Dash/Uber service to deliver fully vetted pets to adopters and fosters within the county.
City of Baytown Animal Services & Adoption Center: 68 animals need homes
Email:animalcontrol@baytown.org
Rosenberg Animal Control & Shelter: 74 animals need homes (all adoption fees waived through April 1)
Editor's Note: Animal population numbers are courtesy of the Best Friends Animal Society.
PETS OF THE WEEK: Be sure to click through the photos above for a look at the pets from the Harris County Animal Shelter that currently need homes or fosters. The Harris County Animal Shelter is located at 612 Canino Road, Houston. Adoption hours are from 1-5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and 11-3:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. To donate to the shelter, click here.
Rebecca Hennes covers community news. Read her on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | rebecca.hennes@chron.com
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Rebecca Hennes is the metro web producer for the Houston Chronicle.
A Houston native, Rebecca graduated from the University of Houston Honors College in 2016 with a bachelor's in print journalism and later joined the Chronicle in 2018.
When she is not writing about dogs or animal welfare, she covers anything Houston-related, including crime, entertainment, education and politics. She can be reached by email at Rebecca.Hennes@chron.com or by Twitter: @beccaghennes