Animals From Across The U.S. Being Adopted On Cape Cod

CENTERVILLE, MA — With the coronavirus pandemic wreaking economic havoc across the United States, officials with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said pet adoption centers in certain areas of the country have declined.

The society's Cape Cod branch in Centerville is trying to find homes for as many animals as possible by transporting them from states where adoption prospects are bleak, to Massachusetts, where demand for pets is soaring.

The latest transport brought 25 cats, ranging in age from nine weeks to four years, from the LaGrange Animal Shelter in LaGrange, Georgia, to Cape Cod. A society spokesperson said this particular shelter has been overwhelmed with new animals and has experiences a 45 percent increase in animal surrenders since 2019.

"Our focus [on transporting] allows us to tackle two enormous challenges at the same time by bringing animals from areas in which there are few adopters to the Northeast, where demand for pets far outpaces the supply of adoptable animals," said Mike Keiley, the director of adoption centers and programs at the MSPCA-Angell.

This was the society's third transport of animals from the LaGrange shelter, having brought 46 cats to Massachusetts earlier in October, just weeks after transporting 38 dogs and cats from The Humane Society of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands, and a further 25 pets from the St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in New Jersey.

Society officials said all the pets from these previous transports have since been placed into adoptive homes.

"We feel fortunate to be able to assist animals outside our region while continuing to make progress with our plans to protect animals in our own communities," Keiley said.

The society plans even more transports in the weeks and months ahead, with dozens more cats and dogs expected from St. Thomas in mid-November and an as yet unknown number that will be transported from the Broward County Animal Care & Adoption Center in Florida.

Anyone interested in adopting can contact the MSPCA-Cape Cod at capeadoptions@mspca.org.