Rescue pet shelters emptied by surge in demand during pandemic

Level 1 l Pre-intermediate / Intermediate

1 Warmer
What are these things? Choose the right meaning.

1. rescue dog
a. a dog that has been rescued from a bad situation and needs a new home
b. a dog that rescues people from fires and earthquakes

2. puppy farm
a. a farm were you can leave your dog when you go on holiday
b. a place where baby dogs are bred and sold, usually in bad conditions

3. pet shelter
a. a temporary place to live for animals who have no home
b. a place where pets can hide when it rains

2 Key words
Match the key words with the definitions. Then find them in the article to read them in context. The
paragraph numbers will help you.

adopt special needs consider application fee

1. think about something carefully before making a decision _________________________________ (para 2)

2. take a pet into your home and look after it _________________________________ (para 3)

3. physical or mental disabilities _________________________________ (para 3)

4. an amount of money that you pay to get something _________________________________ (para 4)

5. a formal or written request for something _________________________________ (para 5)

couple transition poster care for retirement village

6. a large printed notice or picture that you put on a wall with information about something
_________________________________ (para 8)

7. two people who are in a romantic relationship with each other _________________________________
(para 8)

8. a place where many older people live in their own homes and are looked after
_________________________________ (para 8)

9. look after someone or something and give them the things they need
_________________________________ (para 11)

10. the process of changing from one situation to another _________________________________ (para 11)
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NEWS LESSONS / Rescue pet shelters emptied by surge in demand during pandemic / Pre-intermediate / Intermediate
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Rescue pet shelters emptied by surge in demand during pandemic
Level 1 l Pre-intermediate / Intermediate
Dog gone: rescue pet shelters
emptied by surge in demand
during pandemic
Matilda Boseley and Calla Wahlquist 
15 August, 2020
1 Dog shelters across Australia are nearly empty
because there has been a huge increase in the
number of people wanting rescued pets during the
Covid-19 pandemic.
2 “Our dog died in February, and we started looking
for a new dog in around March. Our local shelter
wouldn’t even consider us because we had kids,”
Rebecca Anderson said.
3 Anderson looked at pet-rescue websites in Sydney
every day, trying to find a dog for her family. She
was happy to adopt an older dog or one with
special needs, but she didn’t succeed. “I called
people, I sent emails, but nobody even gave us
interviews. After three months of looking, we still
didn’t have a dog.”
4 Anderson said she saw some shelters offering
puppies for adoption for fees of $1,800. Another
shelter wouldn’t consider her because other dogs
lived on her street.
5 Tegan McPherson, head of operations at the Royal
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
(RSPCA) Victoria, said, “Lots of people want pets,”
she said. “From the start of the pandemic, we have
had over 20,000 online applications to adopt our
pets. And that’s just in here in Victoria,” she said.
6 There are also fewer animals in the shelters
because fewer pets have been lost or given up.
“People are at home more with their dogs or
cats, so the animals have been less likely to go
missing,” she said.
Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2020.
NEWS LESSONS / Rescue pet shelters emptied by surge in demand during pandemic / Pre-intermediate / Intermediate
7 By the start of August, six months after she began
her search for a dog, Anderson started to think
about buying rather than adopting, but there was a
three-year waiting list for puppies.
8 She finally managed to adopt two dogs, Pepper
and Yogi, but not from a shelter. “A friend sent me
a photo of a poster in a park. A couple put up the
poster. They were moving into a retirement village
where they weren’t allowed to keep the two dogs.”
Within a week, Pepper and Yogi had joined
the family.
9 Melbourne woman Shannon McKinn applied for
15 dogs before adopting Brock, a four-year-old
rescue dog, from the RSPCA.
10 McKinn was already working from home up to four
days a week, so her new dog won’t get a shock
when – and if – working life returns to normal.
She said Brock had made lockdown in Melbourne
much easier. “The last few weeks would have
been much more difficult if we didn’t have him.”
11 But some people who adopted rescue pets during
lockdown may find caring for their animals difficult
when office work restarts. McPherson said the
RSPCA was preparing owners for this transition.
“There hasn’t yet been an increase in animals
being surrendered, but we are worried that there
might be when restrictions end,” she said.
© Guardian News and Media 2020
First published in The Guardian, 15/08/20
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Rescue pet shelters emptied by surge in demand during pandemic
Level 1 l Pre-intermediate / Intermediate
3 Comprehension check
Match the sentence halves to give a short summary of the article.

1. Rebecca Anderson’s previous dog …
2. She started looking for a new dog …
3. Because of the lockdown, more people are …
4. People who already have pets have more time
to look after them, …
5. One shelter wouldn’t consider Anderson’s
adoption application because …
6. Some shelters were offering puppies for …
a. … working from home, and many want to adopt a dog.
b. … other dogs already lived on her street.
c. … to adopt in March, 2020.
d. … a park.
e. … so fewer dogs have been given up to shelters.
f. … be taken back to the animal shelters.

7. Anderson adopted two dogs after her friend g. … died in February, 2020.
saw a poster about them in …
8. There are worries that after the pandemic, h. … a lot of money.
some of these newly adopted rescue dogs will …

4 Using the key words

a. Use the correct form of some of the key words from task 2 to complete the sentences.

1. When they are 12 weeks old, we will __________________________ two kittens from the farm.
2. I’ve already written 20 job __________________________ this month.
3. A nice young __________________________ with a baby have moved in next door.
4. I think it’s time to __________________________ moving to a new flat.
5. Joe has been __________________________ his mother for the past five years.
6. Did you read the __________________________ about the concert?

b. Choose the words you would most like to learn, and write a sentence of your own for each one.
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NEWS LESSONS / Rescue pet shelters emptied by surge in demand during pandemic / Pre-intermediate / Intermediate
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 Rescue pet shelters emptied by surge in demand during pandemic
Level 1 l Pre-intermediate / Intermediate
5 Discussion
• Your (or your friend’s) pet has gone missing.
o What can you do to find it?
o Are there any local or national organizations that can help?
• Have you ever found a lost animal?
• Do you have any pets?
• Have you had any pets in the past?
• If you could have any pet, what would it be and why?

6 Webquest
Find out where your nearest animal shelter is. What animals do they have for adoption?

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Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2020.

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NEWS LESSONS / Rescue pet shelters emptied by surge in demand during pandemic / Pre-intermediate / Intermediate
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