New York City's quarantine has inspired a mass adoption of cats and dogs

Shelter cats.
(Image credit: ANNA-ROSE GASSOT/AFP via Getty Images)

There's one coronavirus shortage we can all be okay with.

New York City is the epicenter of COVID-19 spread in the U.S., reporting nearly 15,000 confirmed cases as of Wednesday morning. But that devastating statistic has translated into a much more positive one: massive pet adoption rates that are leaving whole shelters empty, Bloomberg reports.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Similar good news also came in from across the country: The ASPCA said its Los Angeles office saw a 70 percent increase in the number of pets going into foster care. Best Friends said it partners with shelters across the country who have run out of pets, so the shortage appears nationwide.

It's all turning into good news for online pet supplier Chewy, Bloomberg notes. While the stock market remains on a downturn (despite brief jumps on the promise of a congressional relief bill), the retailer has seen a 13 percent rise in its stock this year. Other pet pharmaceutical companies are either seeing stock gains or stability — both of which are positives in a slumping market.

Explore More

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.