Adams County, Pennsylvania’s SPCA facility was overflowing with stray animals only two weeks ago.
As of Saturday, the shelter was almost deserted except for one lone stray kitten.
According to the organization, volunteers and employees at the shelter have worked extremely hard to take care of the animals and ensure they get adopted into the proper family. This year, the shelter found homes for 598 animals and returned 125 strays to their rightful owners.
Because this is the first Christmas season in 47 years that the shelter has been empty, the staff there are calling it a miracle.
It seems they managed to pull it off somehow: Adoptable pets totaled 90 in the weeks before Christmas Eve, including dogs, cats, and even a few ferrets. The overall number of pets adopted from the shelter this year reached 598, and 26 more animals were found in the streets and returned to their owners.
When the shelter is free of animals, the rescue may take in additional animals from throughout the state, increasing the number of lives saved.
The Adams County SPCA took to Facebook to announce that they would be taking animals from other Pennsylvania shelters next week to alleviate some of the animal welfare organizations’ stress.
“Right now,” they said, they were going to celebrate their success!
“Joyeux Noel!”
During the Covid-19 quarantines, animal adoptions enjoyed an uptick. Many shelters emptied when people felt the need for companionship during lengthy lockdowns.
Sadly, many animals were returned as restrictions for the pandemic were lifted, stressing the resources of shelters. Not considering the long view, people adopted pets to help with their short-term boredom.
It is indeed a Christmas miracle when some shelters can still see vacancies unseen in decades for no reason other than having compassion for animals without a home.
