Volunteers,
Thank you for your patience during this strange time. We chose to close to the public at the beginning of the pandemic to protect the health of our staff. If one of them were to get sick, we would have no one to take care of our animals. That being said, we will begin allowing volunteers again on Monday night only beginning next Monday, the 15th, with the following policies:
Cat Wing:
Enter through the front door of cat wing where you will be signed in. Hospitality center is closed; therefore no one is able to visit cat walk.
Masks must be worn at all times when in the building. Please bring your own mask with you. If you don’t have a mask, you will not be permitted to enter.
You will be signed in at which time you choose one room for the duration of your stay. There will be a maximum of two people per apartment and three in a social room, except Garden room where four will be allowed. The only exception to this number is if the people live together. Visitors should practice social distancing when in the room.
Sanitize your hands before entering the room and upon exit.
If you leave the room for any reason, you must leave the building through the nearest exit– no walking up and down the hall looking into rooms.
Once a room is empty, no one else is permitted to visit. We realize this will limit the number of people who can come on Monday night.
Dog Wing:
Report to the door in front of dog wing where you will be signed in and you can choose a dog. While waiting, please remember to practice social distancing. Sanitize your hands before taking the leash and in between leashes, if you walk more than one dog. There will be gloves available if you choose to wear those instead.
Spend as much time walking as you want and return the dog to the back door like you usually do. At this time, no one will be permitted to sit in Hospitality center with their dogs. Pull up a chair or a curb instead! Please wear a mask while in close proximity to Bob or Rich when picking up or dropping off the dog. You do not have to wear one while you walk.
Other notes:
Those of you who typically visit both our dogs and cats will have to choose one for the night rather than volunteer in both wings.
We have taken accepted practices and tried to adapt them to our shelter. We hope that this will be short term but will keep restrictions in place as long as necessary for the safety of those who work so hard to take care of our animals. Please stay well and we’ll see you soon!