How Metro Detroit Animal Shelters Are Coping with COVID-19
We talked to the Oakland County Animal Shelter and Hazel Park Animal Shelter to find out.
By Ari Sklar
Dogs bark and cats meow, just like always, at local animal shelters. Except this isn’t a normal time. We’re in the middle of a global pandemic. So what are local animal shelters doing to deal with COVID-19?
The Detroit Writing Room’s Journalism Camp interviewed managers of local animal shelters to figure out how they’re operating in the pandemic.
The Oakland County Animal Shelter, which was founded in 1919 and houses 1,200 dogs and 1,400 cats each year, has been confronted by their biggest challenge yet. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the shelter challenges that were not anticipated. The response to the pandemic was, according to Joanie Toole, who has been working at the shelter for 30 years, well executed.
“When the first stay-at-home order came out, we closed the shelter to the public. Fortunately, we have a wonderful rescue that got a lot of our dogs (around 80) out into foster (homes). That took our population for dogs way down,” she says. “We still had to come in and feed and clean. We’ve been here the whole time, while everyone was staying home and staying safe. We’ve been working and taking care of the animals.”
The shelter reopened to the public on July 1 and are offering adoptions by appointment only. “That way, we know when people are coming, and we can screen them and take their temperature; we’re asking them some questions. They’re walked through the shelter, always escorted by an employee,” Toole says. “They don’t wander around the building like they used to.”
Cats, dogs, and a few other types of animals can be infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At the shelter, for the safety of those who work there, the animals and visitors, the staff will put on extra PPE when feeding or cleaning animals that have been exposed to COVID-19 or might have been. Those animals are put in quarantine.
As for veterinary services, the shelter is fortunate to have a full-time vet Monday through Friday, as well as a part-time vet on Mondays. If there is an emergency on the weekend, Toole says they can send the animals to Blue Pearl in Auburn Hills or VCA in Pontiac.
Surprisingly, the number of adoptions has increased. Toole says she was shocked that people were adopting and coming out during this dangerous time.
A dog from Wags and Walks in Los Angeles. Photo by Erica Fox
Officer Jennifer Thomas has worked at the Hazel Park Animal Shelter for two years.
The small shelter, founded in 1957, can house up to 20 animals, mostly cats. Like the Oakland County Animal Shelter, it had to deal with the pandemic. But, due to its small size, the response was a little different.
Like the Oakland County Animal Shelter, masks are required to come to the shelter but, since there is a small amount of room, not many people can fit inside the shelter, meaning less people can come in to look at dogs or cats.
As for the dogs and cats that might have come in contact with the virus, there are six quarantine kennels for the animals to stay in. They are also sent to the vet as soon as possible.
Unlike the Oakland County Animal Shelter, the adoption rates at Hazel Park have not changed. When asked about the response to the virus, Thomas says the shelter was closed to the public when the first stay-at-home order was announced, and they had only one volunteer per shift, except for the occasion that two of the volunteers were living together. They opened to the public on July 1.
For basic vet services, like checkups and vaccinations, the animals go to All About Animals Rescue. For emergencies, they go to Luv-N-Care in Southfield, Michigan.
Despite the challenges presented by COVID-19, local animal shelters large and small are doing their important work and dealing with the pandemic effectively.
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About the Writer:
Ari Sklar of Huntington Woods, Michigan
Ari is an eighth-grade student who loves nature, family, school and friends. He has a loving mom, dad and older brother named Noah. He also has two pets: a bearded dragon, Apollo and the family turtle, Thomas.