We’ve put out the call on this page to help those suffering from addiction during COVID-19 and those facing various other obstacles — from health-related challenges to economic woes — during the pandemic.

But there’s another group that’s in need of your assistance: your furry friends and those who care for them.

The good news for cats, dogs and other animals in need of a home is that, much like everywhere else, adoption rates have soared in the county during the pandemic.

This isn’t surprising. Often, the reason why people don’t get a pet is that they figure the hours spent away from home due to work wouldn’t be conducive to caring for a dog, for example, which would need to be taken out during the day.

But with so many people stuck at home — and many places of work transitioning more to remote work in COVID-19’s aftermath — having a pet to keep one company makes sense.

While it’s great that adoptions are on the rise, the county’s humane society said that — much like many places of employment desperately seeking workers — it can be a challenge getting employees and volunteers. This is due not only to the pandemic, but also to the physically taxing work involved in working at a shelter.

On top of that, the pandemic forced the humane society to cancel fundraising events that help to keep the organization operational. Its fourth annual Garrett Fifield Memorial Mutt Strut — from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 2 at Butler Memorial Park’s Rotary Shelter — is aimed at making up some of the difference.

There are ways that county residents can help. Those interested in bringing a new member of the family into their home can adopt a pet from the shelter.

But the humane society’s director of development and community engagement, Michelle Edinger, said while volunteers have stepped up during the pandemic, the organization could always use more.

“We are short staffed like every other business out there,” she said.

One way to help is to volunteer to foster animals from the shelter, which gives potential adopters a better sense of an animal’s temperament.

Of course, local residents can also drop by the Oct. 2 fundraiser, which will include costume contests, a peanut-butter eating competition for dogs, raffle baskets and other activities that benefit the shelter.

Edinger said the community has been supportive of the shelter during the past year and a half of COVID-19. We hope it continues to do so.

— NCD