You can now digitally adopt a pet from the Toronto Humane Society

The Toronto Humane Society is now offering digital pet adoptions since COVID-19 shut down most of its public services. 

After closing their doors to the public on March 17, The Toronto Humane Society moved their adoption process online the following day in an effort to keep finding their animals loving homes as quickly as possible. 

"We needed a way to still find animals homes," Public Relations Specialist, Hannah Sotropa, told blogTO. 

The process is similar to how it was prior to the coronavirus pandemic and you still get the same information and same education that you usually get. The only major difference is you just look at the animals online on their website, instead of in person.

If you find an animal you want to adopt, send an email to adoption@torontohumanesociety.com and include the following details:

• Your name
• Your phone number
• The animal name
• The animal number 
• A picture of completed adoption questionnaire

The email subject line also must include: Adoption request + (animal name) + (animal number).

Applications are a still handled on a first-come, first-serve basis.  

If your application is successful there's a phone interview and a scheduled meet-and-greet to make sure you and your new furry friend are a good match. 

The meet-and-greet is handled with extra care now.

"We're doing it in a way that there's no overlap," Sotropa explained, outlining that there's an hour slot between meetings to avoid any contact. 

She also told blogTO that both staff and adopters must wear personal protective equipment like masks and adhere to the social distancing rules. 

The response to the new digital adoption has been overwhelmingly positive.

"In the first two weeks since we closed, we adopted over 70 animals,"  said Sotropa. And as of today 73 animals have been adopted. 

She also says there's a bit of a silver lining to the self-isolation measures for new adopters. Since people are at home all the time Sotropa has heard from lots of individuals that it helps curb that adjustment period for the new pet.  

"There's less pressure and a more controlled environment to get a pet acclimatized," she said.  

While The Toronto Humane Society is closed to the public, they're still trying to keep their foster bases strong and are still actively trying to get their harder-to-adopt pets placed in forever homes. 

They've also started offering a pet food bank to help out those in need. 

In addition to adoptions going digital, The Toronto Humane Society has also made their pet training classes virtual.