Usually, in tough economic times, animal shelters see an influx of pets that people can't afford to care for anymore. The current pandemic has been a little different.

"We have had adoptions skyrocket," said Jill Vacchina Dobbs, Executive Director of the SPCA of Northern Nevada. "As soon as we opened up adoptions, our community came calling, they were so exited to adopt."

They're using a virtual platform to connect pets with new homes right now.

"We're encouraging people to go to our website to see what animals are available," Dobbs said. "It changes daily, so I ask people to check every day. You can fill out an application and a matchmaker will call you, and we will start the process oft bringing an animal into your family. At the end of that process you'll have an appointment for a curbside pickup, so staff brings bring the animal out to the parking lot."

Most of the shelters animals are still in foster care right now, but there are some living at the shelter, and what the staff has found over the past two and a half months is that the animals there are actually thriving.

"What's really fascinating is the animals in the shelter, particularly the dogs, are doing better not having so many strangers walking past their kennels daily," Dobbs said. "It's giving staff more of a chance to work one-on-one. We have a very robust program to keep them happy and healthy while they're looking for their forever homes so we're looking at making forever changes to how our process works. Having fewer members of the public in the building is important for the staff and community safety and health-wise, but we're seeing some tremendous benefits to the animals as well."

The SPCA is also in the process of moving their thrift shop to a new location on Moana Lane, near South Virginia Street. The hope is to start taking donations in a few weeks.

"So for everyone that's been Spring cleaning, there's a place to bring those treasures they've found," Dobbs said. "That will help us build up an inventory, and we hope to open by the end of July. We're really counting on community to come support this location. Thrift store proceeds provide about 40% of our budget, so everything we do there has a direct impact on how many lives we can save and how many resources we can provide to this community during this challenging time."

They're always looking for foster parents and donations, that can all be done online. 

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