The Chautauqua County Humane Society executive director said adoption specials and an increase in fostering have helped reduced the number of animals since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak. Pictured is Humane Society staff member Amy Farren assisting a visitor with an adoption. Submitted photo

The Chautauqua County Humane Society has significantly reduced the number of pets on site since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, thanks to the efforts of foster programs and early adoption drives.

Not knowing how the impact of the coronavirus would hit residents of Western New York, staff took the initiative by trying to lower the number of pets being cared at the Strunk Road Adoption Center.

“As things started shutting down our main goal was to get the building as empty as we could,” Executive Director Kellie Roberts said. “We ran adoption specials then, and the community has been really responsive to fostering. So a lot of animals have gone into foster. Between those two we were able to get our numbers in the building down pretty low. We didn’t know how many people around the area might become ill and not be able to care for their pets, so we wanted to have some space available to do some boarding for people who needed it.”

Foster families are assessed by Humane Society staff and are used to care for pets who may or may not be up for adoption depending on different factors.

“We’ve had such a response to fostering. We’ve always struggled with that program and it’s something that we hope to continue. We think with people being home they just have more time for that type of thing,” Roberts said.

Not only does fostering help to get pets into loving households, it can also increase their chances of adoption as they spend time out in the world.

“Your friends and your neighbors see your fosters when they are in your home more than people having to make a trip over the shelter,” Roberts said.

Keeping the health of human staff members in mind, the Humane Society has made shift changes and increased cleaning operations.

“Internally my big concern is separation of shifts for staff,” Roberts said. “So that if somebody became ill or exposed we wouldn’t all have to go home, because that would leave me with nobody to take care of the animals. So we needed to reduce our numbers in order to be able to work our staff on separate shifts and not overlap. We have only been doing what we consider to be emergency intakes. So the flow in and out has of the building has been much slower than it normally would be.”

Adoptions are still occurring, with special care being taken to respect social distancing.

“We have still been doing some adoptions, and it has been going very well. We’ve been doing them semi-virtually, as hands off as possible. They are all by appointment,” Roberts said.

Adoption interviews are being conducted over the phone, and same-day adoptions are preferred. “We always allow same-day adoptions if that works out for everybody, so with any luck they will only have to make one trip,” Roberts said.

The COVID-19 outbreak may offer a silver lining for pets and their owners. Increased adoptions and foster care are having a positive impact in addition to some owners spending more time outdoors walking their dogs.

“I’ve lived in the same neighborhood for a year and a half. I’ve seen folks walking their dogs that I’ve never seen before,” Roberts said. “In normal everyday life we are just on to the next thing, everything is moving so fast. I think that maybe this has given people a time to step back and do some things that they maybe always really wanted to do but didn’t think they had the time for it. I think the animals fit in there too.”

There are two reasons that the Humane Society has not reduced its canine numbers further.

Some dogs at the shelter are part of court proceedings and are mandated to stay, and a few others are still recovering after being found in Panama. In early March, 14 dogs were found abandoned in horrible conditions, and were transferred to the Strunk Road Adoption Center.

“Some dogs that were abandoned in very poor conditions in Panama. Some of them are super shy still so we weren’t able to put them out into foster either,” Roberts said. “Some are in foster, some have been adopted, and there are either two or three of them that are still here with us.”

COVID-19 PET INFO

Recent reports from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention confirmed two cases of the novel coronavirus in pet cats living in New York state. Since the start of the outbreak, there has been speculation on how the virus could impact feline and canine pets.

“Everything changes so fast right now,” Roberts said, recommending that owners limit contact with their pets if they are showing symptoms of infection. The CDC is reporting that there is no evidence pets play a role in spreading the virus, but is recommending some precautions until more information is known.

These include limiting interaction between pets and humans, keeping cats indoors, walking dogs on a leash and maintaining social distance. Roberts explained that now is a good time to make sure that you have an emergency plan for your pet in place, in the event that you become ill.

“It could be done anytime, this is just a special emergency,” Roberts said. “Say you should have to go to the hospital and you live alone. Making sure that your pet is up to date on vaccines, has their tags and microchip and there is a plan for them that somebody would know how you take care of them.”