Adoption and sales of pets around the country has seen a swift increase during the COVID-19 pandemic as people are trying to fill the social isolation with an animal companion. The increase, however, has put a significant pressure on animal shelters, including the MSPCA-Angell animal shelter in Jamaica Plain, to keep up with demands.

“There’s definitely been an increase in adoption, at least the amount of interests that we’ve seen in the animals,” said Victoria Odynsky, the manager of the shelter. “We haven’t had as many animals as we normally see. But we have so many people interested in adopting from the beginning of the pandemic still going on now, we get hundreds of phone calls a day.”

Odynsky said the shelter hasn’t seen an increase in the number of pets surrendered and tries to provide support for people who need supplies to keep their pets.

Odynsky said besides keeping up with a spike in demands, another challenge the shelter faces is to match people’s interests or preferences with the animals they have. “We don’t always have what they’re looking for,” she said. 

Watch the interview Victoria Odynsky below.