Trending
The Chautauqua County Humane Society has paused all intakes of dogs and cats for the time being, following intakes of both puppies and cats that are filling available space and also fighting contagious diseases.
The Humane Society announced that they were pausing intakes on Tuesday afternoon on Facebook, and in speaking with the Post-Journal, executive director Jane Babinsky said the shelter is currently facing limited space with the need for both two litters of puppies and 33 cats that were recently taken in to be quarantined.
"We have limited space here for both cats and dogs," Babinsky said. "A lot of it is based on that, and because of the animals that we did take in, it started with two litters of puppies that came from the same household. They came in, and they developed parvo after a couple of days from their intake."
Parvo is a highly contagious disease for dogs, Babinsky said, unless dogs have had their vaccinations. The Humane Society had to isolate the two litters of puppies, which takes up both room and staff time with the extra care, Babinsky added, saying that they also did not want any strays to come in from various municipalities because they do not know what their vaccination record is and do not want to put them at risk. She said they also did not want to put their current healthy dogs at risk by bringing in a stray that could potentially also have parvo.
"Parvo virus currently is in Chautauqua County, it's not just here at Chautauqua County Humane Society," Babinsky said. "There are cases at a couple of other shelters. Veterinarians are saying they are treating cases of parvo. So, it's out there, and that's why we closed intakes for dogs."
Cat intakes are closed as well, as the Humane Society is also dealing with cats with contagious diseases that they can get, along with an emergency intake of 33 cats that came from one household. They are continuing to set traps still at that household, as it is believed there are a few more cats there still.
"Those cats took up any extra space that we had, because we can't introduce them to our general population of healthy cats, and of course they also have to be spayed and neutered," Babinsky said. "And they are not socialized, despite the fact that they were living in a house. They are feral, and they are terrified. So, that's why we can't take anymore cats in at this time because typically stray cats or owner surrenders have to go through a quarantine process and medical process and we don't have the space to do that currently."
The next steps for the Humane Society are to treat the sick animals and get them healthy again, so they can be adopted. The puppies with parvo have gone through their treatment and will be tested later this week to see if they are negative. If they are negative, Babinsky said they will prepare them for adoption next week, but the adoption process for them will be done carefully as it has to be safe for the adopter as well.
"The puppies with parvo will still be shedding the disease for a while, which means you need to isolate them at home, not take them out into public areas, make sure they are getting all of the vaccinations that they need," Babinsky said. "It's a little bit trickier than adopting out a dog or puppy that is free of the disease."
The Humane Society is looking for the community's help as well as they continue to work on helping these cats and dogs. Specifically, people can visit their website, chqhumane.org, to see what supplies they are in need of, and people can donate those supplies, or monetary donations. Monetary donations are especially welcome, Babinsky said, as the Humane Society is currently paying a lot of overtime to their staff to help with the extra care needs, and the general operations funds will eventually run out. People are also very welcome to come and adopt any of the currently adoptable pets.
"That would also help free up some space for us to be able to work with the animals we have," Babinsky said. "Like the 33 cats, it will take a while before those cats will be available for adoption because they are so terrified and are not used to human touch. People can help support us and by donating the supplies we need, monetary donations."
Anyone willing to help by becoming a foster home is welcome too, Babinsky said, especially as coming up in 2027, beginning in January, the Humane Society is scheduled for some renovations and eventual new additions to the facility. Babinsky said they do not want to stress the animals out so many will be sent to foster homes, and they can always use more foster homes.
Pets play an important part in people's lives, Babinsky said, and helping the animals at the Humane Society is also a community issue, especially with the constant phone calls for cruelty cases or stray animals. The Humane Society helps the community by helping both the animals and people in need, as Babinsky said with the current economy there are people who do take good care of their animals but that is becoming more expensive. The Humane Society has a pet pantry available both at their location and the Salvation Army, along with their low-cost spay and neuter program and their vaccination and rabies clinics.
Most importantly, Babinsky emphasized the importance of people getting pets vaccinated right now, both dogs and cats, to protect them so they do not pick up any of the infectious diseases currently going around. She asked that people continue to think about the Humane Society right now, and to take care of their pets.
"That is a very, very important thing, because if they take care of their own pets then we don't have to worry about bringing the animals into the shelter," Babinsky said. "If there's someone you know of that is in need, or that needs help with their pets, some food to feed them or vaccinations that they can't afford, give us a call."
The Humane Society is located at 2825 Strunk Road, and can be reached at (716)665-2209.