Susanna Homan, CEO of PAWS Chicago, said her organization was founded during a time when homeless pets were most likely to be euthanized.
"Twenty-five years ago, more than 42,000 animals were euthanized in Chicago. That represented more than 90 percent of the homeless pet population,” Homan said. “These were healthy, adoptable, friendly pets that didn't have a chance at life."
Back then, Homan said, the public wasn’t as aware of why they should adopt from shelters, so there were simply too many homeless pets to be housed in shelters.
Since it opened, Homan said PAWS has "done almost 300,000 free or low-cost spay or neuter surgeries, and that's been the biggest part of changing the equation here in Chicago."
Although that success is comforting, Homan said, the challenges to find good homes for Chicago's dogs and cats have continued.
"Right now we're seeing an uptick in abandoned pets at all of our locations,” Homan said. “The pets that are being relinquished...are [from] people who have been affected by the economy and the pandemic. So it's not necessarily the people who adopted pets during the pandemic."
Homan said a loving home for a pet is even better than the best shelter.
"As much care and love as we give these pets, they're seeing different employees and volunteers throughout the day,” Homan said. “It's stressful for them to be in a shelter environment … we know they want to be in a home."
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