With the global coronavirus pandemic tearing through the United States, many cities have been forced to institute self-quarantine mandates and social distancing regulations, which have led to a number of unforeseen consequences -- among them, a steep decline in pet adoptions.
Recently many celebs have stepped up to spread the word about the need for pet adoptions during these dire times -- including Riverdale star Camila Mendes, who took to Instagram on Sunday to share a snapshot of herself and her furry friend taking a hike in the woods.
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"My cuddly lil quarantine companion," Mendes captioned the cute pic. "Don’t know what i’d do without her."
"Pls consider fostering a furry friend with all this time you’re spending at home!" she added. "I adopted truffle from @thelabellefoundation in LA but you can just reach out to your local animal shelters and see how you can help."
Queer Eye star Antoni Porowski also helped spread the word after he stopped by Austin Pets Alive! In Austin, Texas, to serve as a foster parent to a pit-beagle mix named Neon.
"It's very important for us to support local shelters because they're getting a lot less foot traffic during this crazy pandemic," Porowski said in a video shared by the pet adoption facility. "If you are ready to adopt, I would encourage you to do that… and If you can't commit to adopting, I would encourage fostering as well."
"You can commit for a week or two or longer or shorter, and just give them the nice quality of life that they deserve, because they're pups and they love unconditionally," Porowski added in the video while lovingly petting Neon's adorable head.
As shelters across the country have been forced to cancel adoption drive events and, in some cases, even close their doors amid the COVID-19 outbreak. This has led to a marked decline in pet adoptions and has added increasing strain to the animal shelter and adoption services system in the country.
So the message regarding the importance of fostering or adopting pets is more important than ever, and the chorus of voices supporting the cause is increasing all the time.
Actress Camila Morrone took to Instagram last week to share a snapshot of herself and her new foster husky.
"Fostering a puppy during this quarantine time has been the single best decision. For all my friends showing interest in doing this, DO IT. You won’t regret it," she wrote. "These sweet creatures need you so badly."
Two days later, Morrone revealed that she'd also taken on the responsibility of fostering a second husky, who was her first husky's sister.
"And then it happened. I’m officially obsessed with fostering," she wrote. "I couldn’t stand the thought of Jack not being with his sister, so I asked if I could take in Jill (on the right) as well. These two beauties are looking for a permanent [home] hopefully together?"
For more on how the impact the coronavirus outbreak has had on the entertainment industry, and how celebs have been coping with self-isolation, see the video and stories below.
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