Did the COVID pandemic see more pet adoptions only for them to return after lockdown?

HOUSTON - Best Friends Animal Society is a leading national animal welfare organization working to end the killings of dogs and cats in America's shelters.

It's been five years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Best Friends Animal Society (BFAS) wants to separate fact from fiction.

"What better way to figure out what was actually going on was looking at the data," said Sophia Proler, BFAS South Central regional director.

BFAS collected data from almost 8,000 shelters and rescue groups to set the record straight when it comes to three common misconceptions.

Myth 1 

"Everyone adopted a COVID pet." 

FALSE:

"In fact, adoptions were down in 2020 and have continued to remain down at rescue groups and shelters across the country," Proler said.

Myth 2: 

All those pandemic pets were surrendered after COVID's peak.

FALSE:

"The return rate remains about steady at about 20 percent and that's been the case before 2019," said Proler. "So we did not see a spike in families having to return their pets to the shelter or rescue group, which is great news."

Myth 3: 

Shelters are more overwhelmed now than ever before due to COVID pet surrenders 

FALSE:

"We're seeing almost 21% fewer animals dying in shelters today than back in 2019," Proler said. "That means savable adoptable animals do not have to be killed due to a lack of time or space."