STANDARDS

CCSS: 6.EE.A.2

TEKS: 6.6.C

MPS: MP1, MP2, MP4

Pals From the Pound

People fostered a record-breaking number of animals when Covid-19 forced shelters to close

Best Friends Animal Society

Skyler

Best Friends Animal Society

Kohl

Kohl used to be shy around people. The 5-year-old cattle dog lived in a Utah dog shelter for about six months. Then the Best Friends Animal Society’s Lifesaving Center in Salt Lake City moved Kohl into its adoption program to find him a new family. But the Covid-19 crisis forced the center to close, which meant potential adopters couldn’t meet Kohl in person. “We rely on people being able to come in and interact with our animals,” says Jessica Pollitz, the group’s animal care and adoption manager.

Every year, approximately 3.3 million dogs end up in U.S. shelters. Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands are euthanized if they aren’t adopted. As shelters closed when the Covid-19 crisis began in March, animal care experts feared for their furry friends. But across the country, animal shelters and rescue centers saw a surge of pet adoptions and fosteringwhere families agree to temporarily care for an animal. “We had people at home who suddenly had the time to give,” says Pollitz.

Best Friends Animal Society

Phillip

Animal care workers and pet fosters worked together to coordinate virtual meet-and-greets with adopters. Social media also played a huge part in sharing stories. People were sending in adorable videos and photos of their foster pals at home.

Many pet fosters eventually decided to permanently adopt. “It’s a trend,” says Pollitz. “You get these animals in your home and they’re adorable. Sometimes they just fit in so perfectly.”

With his foster family, Kohl learned to trust people and let his personality shine. “By showcasing who he really was, Kohl got adopted really, really fast,” says Pollitz.

Equation Remix
Complete the given equations in this algebra challenge.
math-instructional-writingalgebraicexpressionsmp4
Watch an instructional video about writing algebraic expressions.

Use this information to write and evaluate expressions about animal adoptionsRecord your work and answers on our answer sheet.

A. In 2019, 37 dogs were adopted from Best Friends Animal Society between March 18 and March 21. In 2020, p more dogs were adopted during the same time period. Write an expression to find out how many dogs were adopted in 2020.

B. Evaluate the expression: 168 more dogs were adopted in 2020 during the Covid-19 crisis.

A. During the same time period in 2020, 235 dogs were sent to foster families. In 2019, f dogs were sent to foster families. Write an expression to find out how many more dogs were sent to foster homes
this year.

B. Evaluate the expression: 68 dogs were put in foster homes in 2019.

A. Each year, about 6.5 million animals end up in U.S. shelters. But that’s decreased from s million in 2011. Write an expression to find how many fewer animals are in shelters since 2011.

B. Evaluate it: 7.2 million animals were in shelters in 2011.

A. Many pet fosters take in puppies, which need around-the-clock attention. Puppies up to 3 weeks old need to be bottle-fed every b hours. Write an expression for how many times these puppies need to be fed in 24 hours.

B. Evaluate it: These young puppies need to be fed every 3 hours.

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