Pet Adoptions On An Upswing In The Berkshires

The global pandemic has not only caused the closure of schools and businesses, and people swarming grocery stores for toilet paper, but it has also spurred an increase in pet adoptions.

The adoption process has shifted to appointment-only with applications being accepted online and followed up with a phone call. The shelter remains closed to the public. As of Friday, Perreault said there were four dogs and 15 cats as well as some guinea pigs and bunnies left at the facility.

And while adoptions are on the rise, so are requests for assistance. To assist in this growing need, the Berkshire Humane Society held its first-ever drive-thru pet food bank last Friday, April 17.

The pet food bank opened at 10 a.m. and by 11 a.m., the facility ran out of almost everything, said Catherine Hibbard, marketing communications manager for the facility.

The Berkshire Record reports that over the course of two weeks, the Berkshire Humane Society processed 48 adoptions. John Perreault, executive director of the Pittsfield-based nonprofit organization, said that adoptions are way up, and there no doubt that it's because people are home.