COVID crisis puts strain on animal shelters

In March, as COVID-19 began clamping down on Sacramento, business owner and animal lover Paul Shapiro learned about the general strain on animal shelters around town. In fact, Sacramento’s Front Street Animal Shelter had a dire need to vacate dogs from its shelter after the city ordered it to shut down within 48 hours.

Paul’s wife Toni Okamoto Shapiro didn’t hesitate to take a trip to the shelter to foster one of the dogs affected by the pandemic. The Shapiros have been active in the animal protection community for years, and in Paul’sown words, they were are “pet lovers who never owned pets together.” Like many, Okamoto Shapiro was working from home – and the couple was looking for a way to help Sacramento’s animal shelters as they tackled the new challenges created from the coronavirus and a growing national economic slump.

“They needed immediate fosters to come down that day, so since my wife worked from home, she just got in the car and drove there immediately,” Paul said. “You pulled up and they put a dog in your car. It was that dire.”

The dog they ended up taking home, whom they named Eddie after Paul’s late grandfather, was a homeless gray pitbull with no known backstory. While he at first wasn’t sure how to play, within a couple weeks, Eddie had gained weight and was destroying just about every toy given to him within minutes.

Leaders emerge from all corners of communities during this pandemic, and the Sacramento residents who are going the extra mile to help out animals in need deserve recognition as well.

Thousands of volunteers like the Shapiros are fostering and adopting animals in need to find stability during these uncertain times.

The coronavirus and economic crises have put additional financial burdens on non-profit animal shelters in Sacramento and nationwide. Like many shelters that depend on outside donations, Front Street Animal Shelter has taken their Paws to Party gala and other fundraising events online to make up for the lack of in-person events. Other shelters around town have additional strain given social distancing practices, limiting shelters’ abilities to find homes for their animals.

Shelters have adapted and responded quickly to these restrictions. Hosting virtual meet-and-greets with potential owners have allowed shelters to keep up with demand. Sacramento SPCA keeps supporters like Paul Shapiro and Toni Okamoto Shapiro in the loop on pet food and supply drives for families unable to leave the house or that are in financial need.

Shelters are also doing their best to keep up with the influx of unwanted animals and emergency calls to help abandoned animals. Shelters have always dealt with strains on capacity and remind their communities that one of the most impactful ways of helping is to adopt and foster animals.

As in previous times of crisis, Sacramento residents have risen to the occasion and have contributed to a significant increase in the number of homes opening up to foster animals. Beyond taking the leap to foster Eddie, Paul Shapiro was no stranger to the animal protection world. As a high schooler, Shapiro founded his organization, Compassion Over Killing, which has now grown into a national organization (re-branded in 2020 to Animal Outlook). Today, Shapiro is the CEO and co-founder of the Better Meat Co.

Shapiro and the Better Meat Co. team produce plant-based proteins that serve as a nutritional addition to ground meat products like hamburgers and chicken nuggets. The Better Meat Co. has partnered with major food manufacturers, like Perdue Farms, to help businesses achieve their sustainability goals and produce a more nutritional meat product.

Beyond their professional work, the Shapiro family believes strongly that communities should take intentional steps to reduce overall harm to our animal friends and create a more sustainable future for the entire animal kingdom.

After a few weeks of fostering Eddie, Toni and Paul Shapiro decided to permanently adopt him and six months later now describe him as a loving companion and natural addition to their home.

Paul Shapiro uses his podcast, Business for Good, as a platform to discuss issues surrounding sustainability. Shapiro hosts business leaders and sustainability advocates to discuss topics surrounding animal cruelty, pollution, food waste, unhealthy eating, and pollution. Toni also hosts a podcast, Plant-Powered People, which spotlights everyday people trying to make a difference in the world by eating more plants and less meat.

While the Shapiros have spent the entirety of their careers advocating for animals, adopting an animal during the time of coronavirus was a personal and direct way of helping out a furry friend. And according to them, it’s enriched their lives just as much as it helped Eddie out, too.