To bond with an animal is to understand what unconditional love feels like. A pet does not care who you love or what gender you are, only that you are willing to show them kindness and friendship. Although animals are willing to show unconditional love to the people who take care of them, there are too many currently waiting behind bars for someone to see their worth.

The Seattle Animal Shelter was opened in 1972 to "protect public safety" and "enforce animal-related ordinances" in the city. In the 50 years since, it has also helped to house and adopt out thousands of dogs, cats, and small critters (rabbits, pet mice, guinea pigs) to loving families all over King County.

Too many pets!
Since the start of the pandemic, the shelter has become overwhelmed with animals. This is due in part to state and city ordinances that prevent the shelter from opening back up to its pre-COVID visiting hours. It has also seen an uptick in animal surrenders since the beginning of the pandemic, due to people's "pandemic pets" not working out the way they had hoped.

While the Seattle Animal Shelter does not euthanize pets for time or space, there are still very harmful consequences to the animals when it becomes overcrowded.

For dogs, an overfull shelter means much more stress. The noise levels inside the facility can become overwhelming very quickly. Stimulation, paired with the anxiety of being in a new, cold, unfamiliar environment, often leads to behavioral and health issues for these dogs. Many will refuse to eat or develop stomach issues. Others who come into the shelter well behaved quickly deteriorate, losing their confidence and years of training.

For cats, the stress of a full and noisy shelter can also mean their behavior becomes altered. Some cats deal with stress by becoming more aggressive and less willing to trust people. Others will act out by "spraying" or refusing to use a litterbox, even if they had previously been trained to do so.

The stress reactions of animals in shelters can make them seem less adoptable to potential new families. A once-friendly pup can look aggressive when they're stressed out and barking from behind a cage door. A cuddly kitten might only be interested in hiding from those hoping to meet them, and appear antisocial.

For those that do make it out after their behaviors have been altered, the chance of being returned is great. When an animal returns to the shelter, its behavior often deteriorates even faster. The animals do not understand what has happened to them and why their new family has rejected them yet again. Unlike people, dogs and cats do not have the proper ability to process the situations they are in. They face a return to the shelter with confusion, and can often become depressed.

Hope in the dark
While this cycle can feel hopeless, there is a solution! The Seattle Animal Shelter offers a wonderful foster program, where members of the community can help out by taking a pet out of the shelter and into their home. The foster program allows adoptable animals to get away from the stress of the animal shelter so that they can wait for their forever family in the comfort of a "practice home." Anybody is welcome to apply.

Foster parents can choose a pet to bring into their home, and work as an advocate in finding its new family. They are responsible for taking care of the foster pet, making sure it gets to its vet appointments, and most importantly, reassuring it that it is loved.

The pets that usually go into foster care first are dogs who have been in the shelter the longest, dogs recovering from an injury or medical procedure, and puppies who need socialization skills that they cannot get at the animal shelter.

"Fostering is a wonderful experience for you and your family — you can feel good knowing you have helped save a dog's life. Even better, you've created space in the shelter to accommodate other homeless dogs. Foster dogs provide companionship and purpose. Your act of kindness is repaid in rewards that are beyond words," said Pavi, a Seattle Animal Shelter foster coordinator.

For pet lovers who feel fostering is too big of a commitment, the shelter also offers programs to "check out a dog" for a day or to do an overnight. This allows people interested in going on a day trip, such as a hike or a venture to the beach, to bring a high-energy dog with them. This helps to get the pet out of the shelter for a few hours, burn off some energy, and also gets them noticed by members of the community who might be interested in adoption.

Those interested in applying to become a foster parent for the Seattle Animal Shelter should email [email protected]. For more information on adopting or volunteering with the shelter, check out https://www.seattle.gov/animal-shelter/.