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NATCHEZ — Since the Natchez Adams County Humane Society began offering curbside adoptions approximately three weeks ago, administrators said the service has helped more pets find new homes during the pandemic.

Humane Society Director Hanna Willis said staff members decided to offer the curbside adoptions due to a high volume of sheltered animals during the pandemic.

The shift in the way adoptions are done has been good news for some animals, particularly larger dogs, Willis said.

“We didn’t know exactly how it was going to play out at first but it was a huge hit,” Willis said. “It was the most beneficial thing that we could have done with our adult dogs. Even after all of the COVID is over, we’ll still pursue doing it with our adult dogs because they are getting a lot of attention that they weren’t getting before.”

Willis said between 40 to 50 dogs were adopted in the lasthree weeks.

“I wouldn’t say we’ve adopted out more animals because we had a month where we were closed and didn’t have any adoptions but I would say that we’ve adopted out an unusually large number for the times that we’re in,” Willis said. “One day we’ll be slap full and another day we’ll have a great day for adoptions and be almost empty. I’m hoping during all of this, people are getting back to their roots — their family time — and have chosen to add another family member to spend time with.”

Willis said some families have also come to the shelter looking for dogs whose photos were published in the “Pets of the Week” feature of The Natchez Democrat.

“Since we’ve started doing the Pets of the Week, we had one dog that was adopted in the morning and six other families came looking for him later in the day,” she said.

Willis said the shelter is open for curbside adoptions between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.