The coronavirus put a hold on many things. Animal cruelty isn’t one of them.

According to Carbon County Animal Cruelty Officer Donna Crum, the pandemic hasn’t lessened the number of animal welfare issues. If anything, it’s caused them to spike.

“It’s going to be bad this year because of (COVID-19),” Crum said. “I am getting double the calls or triple the calls that I have gotten in the past two or three years, because we were always on top of it. With (COVID-19), we couldn’t be on top of it.”

Rescuers couldn’t deal with cats living in feral colonies (or any one of the other unfortunate situations advocates like Crum see them in frequently) as much in the pandemic.

She said more kittens will be born, more diseases will spread among them, and more will pack already crowded shelters as a result.

But while cat trappers’ efforts have been limited, Crum’s duty to investigate and address cruelty in the county kept her active. She recently helped execute a warrant, removing two dogs from a condemned home in the area. She also rescued 20-odd cats from another local dwelling.

It took three days to get them all out.

“This is stuff we deal with every single month,” Crum said.

With the county’s cruelty officer program recently transferred from Carbon County Friends of Animals to Blue Mountain Animal Rescue Society, Crum, the latter organization’s president, hopes to train more people to do what she does.

“You need more eyes out there,” she said. “You need more legs.”

But being a cruelty officer isn’t an easy job. Rescues are often grueling, not to mention costly.

Along with trapping animals, there’s transporting them to nearby shelters. Some medical procedures, like spaying and neutering, aren’t eligible for reimbursement, Crum said.

That’s why Crum and other rescue leaders decided to go ahead with this year’s Rockin’ Rescue in the Weissport Borough Park.

“It’s not for us. It is specifically designed, and created, and run for the animals of Carbon County,” Crum said. “If we don’t keep fundraising, doors are going to be shut.

“Everybody is suffering in the animal world,” she said.

To deal with animal cruelty in Carbon, community support is a necessity, Crum noted.

If you’re not comfortable with going out, that could mean promoting the event, or mailing in donations.

“Every time you call in to cruelty, or every time you call that shelter - that’s money,” Crum said. “They have to understand if they still want to make that call, they have to support the endeavor.

Crum always knew Rockin’ Rescue’s decade anniversary would be a big one, which is why she added an extra day.

The animal rights event - complete with food vendors, live music and more - kicks off Friday at 4 p.m.

It will carry on through the weekend, starting at 10 a.m. Saturday and at noon Sunday.

Quarantine-themed T-shirts will be available for purchase. Creature Comforts will be offering a rabies clinic from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. There will also be a silent auction and games.

Social distancing will be in place. Masks are recommended.