THUNDER BAY - The Thunder Bay and District Humane Society is taking extra precautions to not only protect staff and the public, but also the animals living there.
It was announced on Tuesday that the Humane Society will be closing its Rosslyn Road shelter to the general public, as well as its low cost spay and neuter clinic. However, services will not cease completely.
“We are still are offering adoptions as well as essential services by appointment,” said Shawna Beaulieu, executive director at the Thunder Bay and District Humane Society. “We’ve taken some protocols to make sure we are doing that safely as best we can. We ask that anyone who wants to access our services or interested in adoptions contact us first and we will set up a one on one appointment.”
The shelter will be pre-screening all those who request an appointment, as well as increasing its cleaning protocols inside.
A buddy-system has also been implemented, meaning staff will work within specific teams, so if one individual does show symptoms, the entire staff will not be exposed to possible infection and the animals will still be cared for.
“We have a large enough team and they are willing to support us through these times and be very careful so we can make it through,” Beaulieu said.
However, Beaulieu said they did have to make the difficult decision to suspend its volunteer program at the shelter.
“We really had to think about this a lot because they are a big reason why we can operate,” she said. “With our current volunteer program temporarily discontinued it was one of our main concerns that our animals wouldn’t get the socialization, the walks, the human interaction they need to flourish. So operating in our current COVID-19 procedures is we’ve added some shifts our staff will be filing outside of regular hours for more socialization with the animals.”
The public is asked to monitor the Humane Society’s social media pages and if interested in adoption to fill out an application online and contact the shelter directly to set up an appointment.
