Uxbridge-Scugog animal shelter open by appointment only

COURTNEY McCLURE, for The Standard

UXBRIDGE: The Uxbridge-Scugog Animal Shelter has been open since the start of the pandemic, but as of November 23rd, they are open by appointment only. In the beginning, they were open via ‘appointment only’, but slowly became more available as restrictions changed. “We were never fully closed,” state Emily Gerber, the supervisor at the animal shelter. Ms. Gerber said the staff at the animal shelter was always available for people to drop off animals. As an example, if someone found a stray animal on the street, they could take it to the animal shelter. If someone’s pet was at the shelter, they could pick it up. During the earlier months of the pandemic, the Uxbridge-Scugog Animal Shelter did temporarily halt their adoption program. According to Ms. Gerber, that was around the end of March. The animal shelter is always staffed, and the staff members have to be there to go on out on calls if sick or injured animals needed assistance. Before switching back to their ‘appointment only’ basis, the Uxbridge-Scugog Animal Shelter was letting people into their facility. They had specific requirements for adopting animals. People could come into the shelter’s adoption room and look at the animals available for adoption. Currently, they’re still doing adoptions. If you are interested in adoption, you have to fill out an adoption form online. One person from a family is allowed to come inside the building to complete the adoption process. A screen door separates the adopter and a staff member who handles the animal, a cat for example. The staff member will play with the cat so the person who wants to adopt it can get an idea how the cat interacts with people. If you don’t have access to a computer or otherwise can’t fill out an adoption application online, you can call the shelter. The adoption form can be filled out over the phone with assistance from a staff member. Ms. Gerber said the shelter is in need of financial donations and is thankful for any contribution. You can donate by mailing them a cheque or coming into the shelter. Currently, there isn’t a way for people to donate to the shelter online. They haven’t been accepting donations of blankets and towels because it is difficult to sterilize blankets and towels specifically. They are accepting donations of unopened cat and dog food, preferably canned or bagged.

#coronavirus #covdi19 #UxbridgeScugogAnimalShelter