When news on the coronavirus broke out with all the shortages, there was one thing we didn’t anticipate: dogs and cats in New York city! Catch the full news below to see what we are talking about.

New York City is running out of Dogs to foster!

You have heard the arms race, so have you heart about the pet race? That’s right! At New York City area which is also the epicentre of the disease, the shortages include toilet papers, hand sanitizer and the bottled water. And now, the newest shortage list includes dogs and cats. This week, Muddy Paws Rescue and Best Friends Animal Society reported that the shelters they work with are almost out of dogs and cats. From the statement, it seems like their applications have extended up to 10-fold during the last two weeks.   

Furthermore, while self-isolating at home, most New Yorkers found that nourishment a pet might help them feel comfortable and calm their nerves. Anna Lai – Muddy Paws Marketing director – described this as “ a great problem to have”. Meanwhile, Chewy Inc shares are increasing now, quite opposite to the crash of the stock market. In details, it increases 7% this year when their customers order online. For now, the sudden surge has pushed its delivery times to 7 and 10 days for customers; according to the announcement posted on the company’s website.

On the other side, many pet-centred companies are also seeing a rise in their performance. PetMed Express Inc., an animal pharmaceutical company, grew more than 7%; while shares of Freshpet Inc. decreased by 2.3% compared to the 23% reduction of the S&P 500 Index. The American Association for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says the Los Angeles office has seen a 70% increase in foster animals.

A possible opposite problem incoming

Notably, there are also animal shelters organizations who raised their concern on an upcoming opposite problem: the rise of pets surrendered as more Americans lost their jobs. Shelters may be required to accept more animals than they have accommodation. “We’re doing whatever we can to empty all of our shelter facilities. We don’t know what’s going to happen when the economic wave starts hitting”. shared Lisa LaFontaine, Humane Rescue Alliance chief executive officer.