Fostering in Quarantine: Animal Shelters Feverishly Free Up Space During COVID-19 Crisis

Anne Gamache said the kittens keeping her company while she works from home during the coronavirus pandemic are also keeping her sane.



“Sometimes animals can be easier relationships than people – they have fewer demands, they have fewer interpersonal needs so they can be friends in ways that humans can’t,” said Gamache, a family therapist living in Andersonville. “And I think that having an animal around the house, especially when you have to be by yourself, can be really helpful in staying emotionally afloat.”


Amid Chicago’s stay-at-home order, animal shelters like the Anti-Cruelty Society are open for essential services like the daily care, rescue and emergency surrender of animals in need.


But a few days before Chicagoans were ordered to stay in doors to limit the COVID-19 outbreak, the Anti-Cruelty Society pleaded with the public to foster animals in case the shelter receives a greater influx of animals or staffing and volunteering ranks decrease.


Video and story by Evan Garcia for WTTW News