New Campaign Celebrates Shelter Adoption in Part to Combat Increase Buying Pets Online

Animal shelters and rescues across the nation see more animals entering than leaving, amassing a backlog of adoptable animals and creating a crisis of existential proportions. To tackle the problem, animal welfare advocates, shelters and rescues have launched Share the Care, a campaign highlighting the powerful impact people can have on homeless animals in their community through even the smallest acts of kindness. Learn how and where help is needed in your local area and pledge your support at Join Share the Care.

The newly launched Share the Care campaign illustrates the critical role the community plays in creating positive outcomes for cats, dogs and other companion animals. Opportunities like adopting, fostering, volunteering, donating, or even sharing adoptable animals on social media can help give incredible animals a second chance at a wonderful life.

Animal shelters across the country are packed with dogs and cats who have nowhere to go. It’s a drastically different situation than in 2020, when shelters and rescues saw overwhelming demand for adoptable pets. Life during Covid may have influenced how people acquire pets.

For decades, pet adoption has been seen as a badge of honor, but Best Friends recently reported a 400 percent increase in people purchasing animals online from 2020 to 2021. A popular message on social media stickers, “Adopt, Don’t Shop,” has subtly morphed to “Adopt or Shop Responsibly.” This disturbing trend dilutes the focus on homeless pets and inevitably bolsters the inhumane puppy mill industry.

“Without significant and immediate support from the public, data analysis of the past few years predicts adoptions will continue to decrease,” said Stephanie Filer, executive director for Shelter Animals Count.

For more information on specific actions that help save animals’ lives, including how to keep pets out of shelters, visit joinsharethecare.org.