Humane Society Updates March 27, 2020
Hello All,
We hope you and your family are doing well during our current Stay-at-Home order. You can be confident that our leadership team is reviewing COVID-19 updates daily and are keeping our staff, volunteers, community members, and shelter pets at the top of our mind when making adjustments to our daily shelter operations.
ANIMAL CONTROL SERVICES
As an essential community service, our office staff are still available via telephone during regular business hours Monday-Saturday 8:30am-5:30pm. Our office and adoption center are currently closed to all non-essential visitors. To do our part in keeping staff healthy, we are doing as much animal control and shelter business via telephone or over the internet. Animal Control Officers are still available for emergency animal control issues. We are deferring most non-emergency calls for service until after the Stay-at-Home order is lifted.
LOST & FOUND PETS
For folks who have lost or found a pet we ask that you fill out the appropriate form on our website (HERE). If you’ve lost your pet, after receiving your Lost Report a staff member will email you within 24 business hours a link to the animals in our Stray Hold areas. This way we can limit visitors walking through the shelter but still give owners a chance to view the animals in our Stray Hold area. If your pet is at our shelter, our staff will work with you over the phone to collect needed information and arrange for you to pick-up your pet.
FOOD BANK
We know times are tough for many of our community members and we want to help! We have free dry dog/cat food available for St. Joseph County, IN residents. If you or someone you know needs assistance with pet food, please call us at (574) 255-4726 ext 0 so we can make arrangements. You will be asked to show an ID or utility bill confirming you live within St. Joseph County, IN and asked to complete a short survey. Food will be left for you outside our office for no-contact curbside pick up.
ADOPTION IS STILL AN OPTION!
Sending pets to their forever homes is vital to our daily operations and provides space and critical resources for incoming animals. Potential adopters are encouraged to visit our website (HERE) to browse our adoptable pets and to fill out the online application. Once approved, our staff will call the applicant to set up an appointment to meet (and hopefully take home) the animal(s) they are interested in.
FOSTERING A SHELTER PET
Potential fosters are encouraged to fill out a foster application on our website (HERE). Melissa, our Foster Coordinator, will contact you to gather more information and to hopefully match you with a shelter pet in need of a foster home. Foster homes are currently needed for experienced dog owners who don’t currently have pets in the home.
Potential fosters are encouraged to fill out a foster application on our website (HERE). Melissa, our Foster Coordinator, will contact you to gather more information and to hopefully match you with a shelter pet in need of a foster home. Foster homes are currently needed for experienced dog owners who don’t currently have pets in the home.
HELP US STAY CONNECTED
Since the adoption center is closed for guests to visit with the animals like normal, we’ve beefed up our social media and are highlighting shelter pets daily. If you haven’t done so already, hop on over to Instagram and follow us @humanesjc or on Facebook @HSSJC! Be sure to “like” our posts and to share them with your friends and family.
VOLUNTEER TRAINING
Although we are limiting volunteers in shelter at this time, we are offering an online info session to NEW volunteers. If you’d like to become a volunteer or would like a refresher, reach out to our Outreach Coordinator, Bailey, to get started at [email protected] !
DONATIONS
We are still accepting donations for frequently needed items such as blankets, towels, bleach, cleaning/disinfecting supplies, paper towels, and pet food. Items can be brought to the shelter anytime and placed in the barrels outside of our office for contact-free drop off. Our website also displays our Amazon Wish List and other links to needed items. Visit our WISH LIST link for more info.
AT HOME RESOURCES
Are you home and find yourself with more time on your hands? How about teaching your dog a new trick or working on improving certain behaviors? Visit our website for a treasure trove of helpful training and behavior resources including videos (HERE)!
OTHER HELPFUL RESOURCES
During uncertain times like these it is important to create a plan for your pets in the event you or a family member become ill or in the event you are not available to care for your animal(s). Check out the ASPCA’s website for ways to keep your pets safe during the Coronavirus crisis. More information on how to make an emergency plan for your pet can be found HERE on the Ready.gov/pets website.
As updates become available, we will be sure to keep you in the loop! Please don’t hesitate to call us if you are in need of assistance. We will do what we can to help. Thank you for your continued support and we hope to see you soon!
-Genny Carlson-Brown, Executive Director
