Adoptions continue as Oshawa Animal Services moves online

By Courtney Bachar/The Oshawa Express/LJI Reporter

Now is the perfect time to adopt a pet since people are spending so much time at home in self-isolation, says Oshawa Animal Services (OAS) Supervisor Kathy Pittman-Feltham.

OAS had to close its doors to in-person adoptions last month due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but quickly moved to a virtual adoption process to be able to continue to find forever homes for the cats, dogs and small critters in their care.

“What the process has allowed us to do is a safe, contactless adoption,” says Pittman-Feltham, adding they interact a lot with the adopters on the phone, conduct FaceTime meet-and-greets, take lots of videos, and use their social media page to share about the animals.

“It has taken off like we didn’t even imagine that it would have.”

Carrie Holoway was one of these recent adopters who felt now was the right time to welcome a new pet into their home.

Holoway, says they had a puppy who passed away a few days before her now three-year-old daughter was born.

“We’ve always bordered on whether or not we wanted to get another dog because we’re dog people, but with our three-year-old at home now, it was a bit crazy to think about adding a dog to the mix,” she says.

Holoway says they looked at several different agencies to try and find a dog that was a right fit for their family, but found the process very difficult with many agencies not willing to adopt out to a family with a young child.

“We really explored it for over a year, and even met with a couple of dogs, but it just didn’t work out for us.”

Holoway says a friend told her about Oshawa Animal Services and she reached out. At this point, Holoway and her family decided that a cat may be a better option for their family.

“We told [Oshawa Animal Services] we were considering a cat and that we’d love to adopt if they had a cat they would recommend for a family with a toddler,” she says. They introduced Holoway and her family to Earl Grey, which they’ve since shortened to Earl, a grey tabby cat. And while there isn’t much history about Earl, Holoway knew he was the right fit for their family.

Holoway brought Earl home as a foster to adopt in early April and officially adopted him on April 15.

“We couldn’t be happier,” says Holoway. “They found us the perfect cat. He’s super fun. We’re really lucky.”

Pittman-Feltham says adoptions have been great since moving to the virtual adoption process last month.

“It is fantastic. We’re hitting at about a 150 per cent increase in adoptions for the exact same time period last year,” she says.

Since virtual adoptions began, 105 animals have been adopted out, including 15 dogs and puppies, 80 cats and kittens, and 10 small critters, such as bunnies, hamsters and rats.

Jennifer Desveaux was one of the recent virtual adopters who welcomed a new dog into their family.

Desveaux and her family brought George, a five-year-old Husky, home with them on Monday.

After losing both of their dogs in the last year, Desveaux says it was time for them to move on and bring home a new friend.

“It’s been a little quiet in our home (since the passing of their previous dogs),” says Desveaux, adding her two-year-old son is super excited about having a new dog in the family.

Pittman-Feltham says there are still about 40 cats and 10 dogs in shelter that need good homes.

She says what they have found is with the centre closed to the public, the staff have had more time to do enrichment with the animals, including spending more time with them outside, and more one-on-one time with them.

“So, from an animal’s perspective, similar to your animals at home, they’re loving life right now. They’re getting a lot more attention, and the team has a lot more time to go through and organize and deep clean the centre as well.”

That being said, Pittman-Feltham says the virtual adoption process is a lot more labour intensive – where some adoptions are able to be handled with one interaction, she says staff are having to complete the same process with multiple interactions, whether it’s by phone or by video. She jokes that her staff are the match-makers for the animals as they do a great job with teaming up the animals in their care with their forever families.

“We’re finding, though, that people are really connecting to the process, and connecting to the team, so you really have a bond with that staff member as well.”

While Oshawa Animal Services has closed their centre to in-person visits and moved their adoptions online, Pittman-Feltham says OAS is still open for intake.

“We thought at the beginning that with more people at home, now would be a good time to adopt, but we really weren’t sure what those numbers would look like, but it is definitely a plus,” she says, adding it’s definitely a trend within the shelters right now, and with more people at home, that bond with the animals is happening.

“Usually, the key to a successful adoption is making sure that the bond happens. If that bond happens, people are more committed to working with that animal,” she says, explaining that if it isn’t the right match, OAS will happily welcome the animal back into their care and will work with the adopter to find the right fit.

“We’re finding we’re getting a lot of adoption updates from people. We know they’re at home spending time with the animal, getting to know the animal and they’re basically with it 24/7, so for us, if there’s something positive to come out of this, that would be it.”

Pittman-Feltham says while Oshawa Animal Services is currently closed to public visitors, the entire team is still working, adding intake is still open for stray animals as well, including wildlife, and domestic cats and dogs.

“If your animal is lost, we’re still open for that intake,” she says, adding that donations are also always welcome.

“Giving to our medical fund is always huge for us,” she says. An online donation platform was recently launched. However, Pittman-Feltham notes that it’s a tough time for a lot of people right now and if someone is not in a position to monetarily donate, gift cards to buy pet supplies, as well as food, toys and enrichment items, are also welcome.

She says people right now are looking for ways to keep their kids occupied while at home and says there’s a how-to section on the Oshawa Animal Services website on how to make enrichment toys at home.

“It could be something simple like making cat toys out of paper towel rolls,” says Pittman-Feltham. “People can take a look around their homes. There’s some simple craft projects that can also help teach children a little bit about responsible pet ownership and what that means from a very young age. And then, we hope when they’re old enough to volunteer or adopt, they come looking for us,” she says.

For more information or to donate, follow Oshawa Animal Services on Facebook, or visit http://www.oshawa.ca/residents/animals.asp.