WEST SENECA, N.Y. (WKBW) — The SPCA Serving Erie County has been doing its best to make sure all of the services they offer are running at full speed.
"We're taking some of the services that we think are the most important to offer to the county and we're modifying them and doing everything in our power to still offer them to this community," Gina Lattuca of the SPCA Serving Erie County said.
They have seen an increase in animal adoptions, partially because of the advantage having an animal can have to a person's mental health during these stressful times.
"Animals can be stress reducers for people," Lattuca said. "They can lower their heart rate so if you look at that end of it, this could be a wonderful time [to adopt]."
Lattuca does warn, though, that the decision to adopt should not be rushed just because a person is obeying social distancing and staying home.
The stress of forcing an animal inside, and from the ongoing crisis can have negative effects for a person and the pet.
"If people at the home are prone to stress, if there's a lot of worry and they're prone to the stress facing us right now, animals are very in tune with our moods and emotions," Lattuca adds. "We set the tone of the environment with the animal. If we're stressed that could be another trigger for the animal."
For information on animals available for adoption at the SPCA Serving Erie County's website click the link here.
