BATON ROUGE- Companion Animal Alliance of Baton Rouge launched a 'Pet Pal' program to keep kids busy during quarantine and allow shelter pets to find new homes.

The animal alliance released a statement Tuesday afternoon announcing the launch of their new program, 'Pet Pal,' while the facility is closed due to the virus outbreak. 

The idea of the program is to re-home the pets that are unable to be visited during this time while entertaining families stuck at home. Even if families are unable to adopt, they are encouraged to participate. Children are able to learn about shelter pets while spreading the word about them, too.

“With nearly all of our shelter programming at a halt due to COVID19 and witnessing many families search for entertainment, this program connects the dots between our pets and those stuck at home,” says J.T. Hackett, Programs Director. “It’s also a perfect opportunity for children to get involved and help them understand their role in caring for the animals in our community.”

Children can select one of the five available pet options with a minimum $10 donation. Once a pet is chosen, CAA will send Pet Pal activities via email for the entire family to do with the new pet.

The available animals include a range of different types, from puppies to pigs. Finnagan, Honey, Pua, Lenny, and Irene are available for adoption.

CAA encourages Pet Pal families to display their artwork in the windows of their homes or on social media with the hashtag #CAAPetPal to spread the word.

Also, the artwork can be sent to programs@caabr.org to share with the entire Pet Pal community.

To learn more about the program, visit the CAA website here. Or, pick your Pet Pal here.