SHERIDAN, Colo. (KDVR) — Puppy adoptions were through the roof during the pandemic, but now the exact opposite is happening. Animal rescues are seeing record numbers of dogs being returned.  

MAMCO, short for Moms and Mutts, fosters pregnant and nursing dogs, along with their puppies. The rescue said they are experiencing an alarming rate of adoption returns.

“We’re at 163 returns right now, most of them, the majority of them has been dogs that were adopted in 2020,” MAMCO Executive Director Aron Jones said.

Jones and her staff said they are overwhelmed with returns happening just about every day.

“We’re making progress finding fosters for the current returns then we have another five or six emails come in with return requests the same day,” Jones said. “It’s just kind of defeating and frustrating and money’s tight, supplies are tight, adoptions are slow. It’s just been a really challenging year overall.”

Adoptions at MAMCO are the slowest they have been in three years according to Jones. The reasoning behind each return makes the situation harder for her to comprehend.

“Ninety-nine percent of them are coming back to us because something changed in their human’s life not because anything they did,” Jones said. “Traveling has been a big one this year they want to travel and don’t want to board their dogs. I get mad, I get mad when people are making these decisions and not thinking about how it’s going to impact the dog.”

You can find more information on how to help MAMCO on the website.

Dumb Friends League has also seen an increase in surrenders due to owners moving either out of state or to housing that won’t allow them to have pets. On average, the shelter typically had served 600 to 700 animals but recently that number shot up to between 800 and 1000. However, officials say there has been a recent outpouring of support and adoptions bringing the shelter closer to its average.