With all those pandemic dog adoptions, are Northeast Ohio shelters seeing increase in returns?
CLEVELAND, Ohio When the world locked down, people adopted dogs.
Now, after months of ownership, after vet bills and chewed-up furniture and early morning walks in the cold, are dogs being returned to shelters in record numbers?
Nope.
Sharon A. Harvey, president & CEO of the Cleveland Animal Protective League, says the organization’s post-adoption returns rates actually decreased, from 8.9% in 2019 to 6.4% in 2020.
“With more people working from home, adopters had more time, and maybe patience, to allow an animal to settle in and adapt to a new home,” Harvey said.