We have had our doors closed since March 16th. We will unfortunately remain closed until we are able to receive guests once again. This is in large part due to the shortage of some essential disinfectant supplies that we need to be prepared to help our visitors. We are not there yet. Also, another factor that affects our ability to reopen is adherence to State and County Orders. Having said that, we look forward to gradually opening our doors by June. The health and well-being of our staff and the visiting public is of the utmost importance to us, so we will move slowly and deliberately in our efforts to reopen. Below is an outline of what to expect as we progress:

Operations
● Continue to provide essential shelter services, as outlined in the NACA
statement on essential functions published in March 2020.
● Maintain a reduced flow of pets into the shelter and continue a slowed but steady approach to intake, adoptions, and other services. Re-start or increase services incrementally, to include time for safety planning and testing new things.
● Admit pets with urgent medical needs; dogs that pose a risk to public safety; pets in immediate danger; and other animals with no other viable options once other options have been pursued.
● Determine a plan for resuming pre-COVID services, including spay and neuter services based on our resources, transport, and transfer, ensuring that physical distancing and other safety measures are maintained.
● Continue to serve healthy cats and kittens in the community, as outlined in the NACA statement on cat and kitten intake during COVID-19.
● Create and implement medium- and long-term plans for providing increased remote appointment-based foster and adoption services; curbside and drive-up services; and limiting the number of people entering the shelter facility.
● Ensure protective measures are put in place for staff, volunteers and the public, including making masks available for staff and limited volunteers; conducting temperature screenings for people entering the shelter facility; operating on a split schedule to reduce the number of staff and volunteers at risk of falling sick with COVID-19.
● Increase programs and services related to pet owner support, pet retention and stray returns to owner, to reduce the number of animals requiring sheltering and to reduce person-to-person contact in the shelter.
● Continue to house certain pets in foster homes, instead of the shelter, to
reduce person-to person contact in the shelter. Develop and implement avenues to permanently outcome foster pets to adoptive homes without those pets having to return to the shelter, except for routine medical care and sterilization.

Communications and Education
● Ask animal services personnel to sign up to view webcast about COVID-19 for shelter and field services employees.
● Provide up-to-date information and guidance to our community and to animal services personnel based on guidance from the CDC and AVMA, including information for pet owners on making plans for your pets if you fall sick with COVID-19.
● Engage with our community and ask for help. We are all in this together, and we need your help to get stray pets’ home, care for kittens and cats in the community, and help keep pets in their homes and communities, instead of the shelter.

Please email me if you have any questions or concerns. I can be reached at: info@skagithumane.org.

Thank you,
Janine Ceja
Executive Director, HSSV