(WXYZ) — At the seventh annual Berkley Street Art Festival, guests had the opportunity to be creative, tackle culinary experiences, and even explore ways to adopt a pet thanks to No Dogs Left Behind Rescue. Samuel Jerome started the rescue in 2011.
"Since the inception, how many dogs have you been able to help get adopted?" I asked.
"There has been thousands!" Jerome said.
Rachel Marriott adopted Saddie, a German Shepard, from Jerome last year.
"I just saw her, and she was so cute. I had to have her. And I love her," Rachel said.
The 14-year-old says she now has a best friend.
"She is friendly, loves to play, loves to swim, and loves everything," she said.
Seeing how a dog can change a human's life is what keeps Jerome going.
"But the trend has changed in the last few years, correct?" I asked.
"Yes. Adoptions have decreased; I believe it has much to do with people working from home, which means they can work from a hotel. So they can travel more, if that's the case then you don't have time for a dog," Jerome said.
Jerome says adoption was at an all-time high before the pandemic, and he didn't have enough dogs. In 2020, that trend dipped to about 150 dog adoptions a month, but now that number is hovering around 30.
"I get the stats from Adopt A Pet; it tells me how many people look at my dogs, on average, 20,000 people," said Jerome.
"If this trend continues, how much of an impact will you see in the dog adoption industry?" I asked.
"Adoptions will go down. We won't stop rescuing, but we will have to reduce what we can rescue," said Jerome.
Jerome says another reason behind the decline is that newer housing options must be pet-friendly.
"There are a lot of people renting homes that do not allow them to take in pets," said Jerome.
Jerome says there is still hope if folks foster, just like Staci Perrott.
"I lost a dog, and I wasn't ready to get a new dog yet, so I thought I would foster for a while and see how that went. So now I have two of my own, and I am still fostering," said Perrott.
Jerome says the adoption process at No Dogs Left Behind Rescue is year-round, simple, and, most importantly, affordable. To learn more, just click here.
