Coronavirus made 2020 a tough year for most people. For cats and dogs, however, there might have been a silver lining.

“I cannot tell you the demand that we have right now,” said Kate Griffith, spokeswoman for Midcoast Humane, an animal rescue and adoption organization with locations in Brunswick and Edgecomb.

The shelter reported 1,466 adoptions in 2020, which is 1,022 less than 2019. The numbers, however, don’t tell the whole story, as the shelter said the organization did observe a noticeable increase in interest.

So why less overall adoption? One reason, according to Griffith, is a shortage of animals. Due to limitations on interstate transport brought on by the coronavirus, shelters haven’t been able to bring in nearly as many animals from out of state.

“We also rescue a lot of animals from shelters in the south,” said Midcoast Humane President Mary Sundeen. “Once you couldn’t go from state to state, or if you came into Maine you had to wait 10 or 14 days in quarantine, that dried up the number of people wanting to do that, make that trip.”

Midcoast Humane closed to the public on March 16 of 2020 and now operates through appointment only. Griffith said the first large group of kittens that was transported after the pandemic began drew a waiting list of over 200 people.

While puppy and kitten transports have brought large crowds before COVID-19, “now, it is a continuous thing,” which includes “older animals that might not receive that attention normally,” Griffith said.

Transports resumed in October, but Sundeen said that, even now, they are less than half of where they typically were. This especially impacted the adoption numbers for typically busy months for the shelter, such as “kitten season,” which is during the summer.

“I hear the personal stories about the people that are working from home and they’ve been isolated and haven’t been able to see their family or their friends,” Griffith said. “Maybe they’re immunocompromised, but their dog is there with them or their cats are there and keeping them company.”

With people working from home, new and old pets receive more attention and care than before.

“The animals are definitely winning in this pandemic,” Sundeen said, also noting that clinical reports have shown people with animal companions can have lower blood pressure, less anxiety and get more exercise.

At Passion for Pets Rescue, a Brunswick-based non-profit dog adoption service, President Lisa Bouchard said they have noticed a similar increase in interest. Passion for Pets Rescue does not have an actual shelter, and instead places homeless dogs in temporary foster homes while seeking an adoptive family.

“Since the pandemic we have seen a huge spike in applications,” Bouchard wrote in an email, estimating that number of applications likely doubled.

Bouchard wrote that she thinks with more people working from home, more want to adopt, however they have been “extremely cautious,” as they “do not want to see a spike of owner surrenders once people go back to work.”

According to an annual survey from Maine’s Animal Welfare Program, Maine shelters transferred in 9,748 cats and dogs in 2020, which is 1,120 less than in 2019. In total, 23,864 cats and dogs were adopted in Maine shelters in 2020, down from 24,483 in 2019.

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