Animal Welfare Professionals

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  • 1.  Changes due to COVID

    Posted 01-11-2022 07:26 AM
    We live in a community (county and state) that is experiencing very high COVID rates/transmission right now. Curious if other shelters in similar situations have made any changes to operations, volunteer programming, etc due to the new Omicron variant and rising cases?
    #AdmissionsandIntake(includingIntake-to-placement)
    #AdoptionsandAdoptionPrograms
    #CommunityPartnerships*
    #FosterPrograms
    #FundraisingandDevelopment
    #OrganizationalManagement
    #PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)
    #PetSupportServices*
    #TransfersandTransport

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    Erin Ellis
    Community Engagement Director
    Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe

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    Volunteer & Community Partnerships Specialist
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  • 2.  RE: Changes due to COVID

    Posted 01-11-2022 07:32 AM
    I live in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, so it is far from you.  I am a volunteer.  Ever since COVID began, I have been told that they are allowed to have no volunteers in the local SPCA.  I am still able to foster sick animals, a pick up and drop off, but no one but employees are allowed to be there regularly.  They even lock the doors, and the doors were never locked prior to COVID.  Admittedly, the numbers seem high to me in terms of occurrence of COVID cases, but it still answers your question.





  • 3.  RE: Changes due to COVID

    Posted 01-13-2022 05:01 AM
    There are tons of shelters experiencing this right now. WIlliamson County closed to intakes for 30 days and kept outcomes (adoptions/rescue) open. Others have limited hours/days. Others are utilizing volunteers. WHat are you all planning to do?

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    Kristen Hassen
    American Pets Alive!
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  • 4.  RE: Changes due to COVID

    Posted 01-13-2022 04:58 PM
    So far, we have not had to make too many changes to operations at the shelter or with our volunteer programs (fingers and toes crossed). Our volunteers have been fantastic about following all of the state and county guidelines. Our team has remained safe and healthy as well, so we're just crossing fingers we continue to weather this latest surge.  We have had to place all pet therapy programs on hold and reschedule all of our in-person education programs/presentations.  Our local schools are getting hit pretty hard with this right now.

    Just good to know what others are doing and trying to stay abreast of changes others are going through. Thanks for the responses!

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    Erin Ellis
    Community Engagement Director
    Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe

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    Volunteer & Community Partnerships Specialist
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  • 5.  RE: Changes due to COVID

    Posted 01-14-2022 01:47 PM
    My community is experiencing the most cases it has seen during the entire pandemic right now. We have a vaccinate mandate for all staff and volunteers (been in place since September or October,) and masks are required by everyone (patrons, staff, volunteers) in any areas that members of the public are allowed, though many people choose to wear masks in the staff/volunteer-only areas as well.

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    Erin Wyse
    Denver Animal Protection
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  • 6.  RE: Changes due to COVID

    Posted 01-20-2022 11:44 AM
    Erin,

    Thanks for this post.   We have altered our clinic operations due to COVID. We still do curbside services for all appointments ( except euthanasia). Client are allowed to come into the building to fill out paperwork and check in/out for an appointment however they are REQUIRED to wear a mask and if they refuse they cannot come inside. We have also started using jotforms and electronic methods for filling out forms and obtaining records and receipts.  Clients cannot wait in the building , they must go back to their cars. It is mandatory for all staff to wear a mask at all times. 

    We also went through a period where we broke up into teams. For instance, team A would work Mon, Tues, Wed and Team B would work Thurs, Fri, Sat. Each team consisted of a vet, techs and receptionists and the teams never crossed. By that, I mean a person from team A could not work for a person on team B and vice versa. This helped us for a while so if someone tested positive we did not have to shut the whole clinic down, we just shut down the team. 

    We have also stopped having volunteers in the clinic to help stop the spread of covid.  I hope this helps a bit.

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    Marissa Reid
    Clinic Director
    LifeLine Animal Project

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    Access To Care Specialist
    Clinic Management Specialist
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  • 7.  RE: Changes due to COVID

    This message was posted by a user wishing to remain anonymous
    Posted 01-20-2022 12:31 PM
    This message was posted by a user wishing to remain anonymous

    I live in Canada, and while I don't like it, (because I am a volunteer,) I understand why:  Our local SPCA closed their doors to all volunteers at the beginning of COVID and have never opened them again except for occasional foster person pick ups.  They felt that it provided control over potential COVID infections.


  • 8.  RE: Changes due to COVID

    Posted 01-21-2022 02:43 AM
    Dear Anonymous,

    I am sorry to hear that you are not able to volunteer.  I'll be honest, it was truly a hard decision for me to make when I had to stop having volunteers come into the clinic.  This decision made some of our volunteers very sad however I had to explain to them how much I appreciated them and all they do. It was my first priority to keep everyone safe as much as I could.  Of course I cannot stop COVID but I can do my part such as limiting the number of people and helping slow down the contact and transmission of the virus and working in teams.  I understand how difficult this may be for you and hopefully things get better soon and you can get back to volunteering.  I miss our volunteers as we had 3 of them who came regularly and had been coming for at least 5 years or more and they were 65 and older with many underlying conditions so it was difficult to not be able to let them come back but that was the best decision to keep them safe. THANKS FOR YOUR POST and I hope things get better soon.

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    Marissa Reid
    Clinic Director
    LifeLine Animal Project

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    Access To Care Specialist
    Clinic Management Specialist
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  • 9.  RE: Changes due to COVID

    Posted 01-21-2022 08:15 AM

    As @Marissa Reid said!  This is truly a difficult decision to make.  Our operation has scaled back volunteer access to the facility in an effort to reduce the number of individuals in common areas at the same time.  We have volunteers coming in before we open to and after we close to public to help ensure that the animals are receiving the enrichment they need.  This may not be possible for many communities as their hours with staff on hand may more directly mirror the hours the facility is open.  We are fortunate to have staff in the facility 20+ hours per day, which is what makes this possible. 

    Thank you for continuing to be supportive of your local shelter, and thank you for being part of these important conversations!



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    Josh Fisher
    Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control
    704-336-7552
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  • 10.  RE: Changes due to COVID

    Posted 01-21-2022 08:24 AM
    @Josh Fisher,

     Thanks so much for your post.  I am glad you agree with how difficult volunteer changes are. That is a wonderful idea having volunteers come in before and after hours.  Hopefully there are other shelters that can adopt that method if possible so that we can continue to give the animlas and volunteers what they need. Thanks for your post.

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    Marissa Reid
    Clinic Director
    LifeLine Animal Project

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    Access To Care Specialist
    Clinic Management Specialist
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