Covid-19 Updates
Essential Animal Control services provided by the LHS Animal Response Team (ART) will continue, on an emergency/high priority call basis.
LHS'S Shelter is open by appointment only: Please email [email protected] to make an appointment
All Wellness Clinics are suspended.
Existing Spay/neuter appointments will be honored.
Read our full COVID-19 statement:
March 19th, 2020
A note from LHS’s Executive Director
Make an Emergency Plan for your Pets, Today
COVID-19 is disrupting every aspect of our lives, and we, as pet owners, need to be prepared for a situation in which we can no longer care for our pets in our homes.
Many of us have lived through hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods, but virtually no one has experienced a viral pandemic. Today I made a COVID-19 specific plan for my own pets, and I wanted to share some key points with you:
- Assume your pets will not be able to be cared for in your home if you are hospitalized. Your caretakers should be able to care for your pets in their home or alternate location.
- Travel may be restricted, so your caretaker should live as close to you as possible to ensure they can retrieve your pets quickly.
- Make arrangements with more than one caretaker, and make sure they are in contact with one-another. If you can’t get keys to them, install a lock box outside your house/apartment to allow for multiple people to have access.
- There is no indication pets can spread COVID-19, even if they have had human exposure, but always practice good hygiene when handling them. Wash any bedding, collars or leashes that come with the pet. Wash your hands after contact; limit licking and touching of your face.
- Many full-service veterinarians are no longer open, due to business restrictions, but emergency veterinarians are. Find the nearest emergency provider to you and your pet caretaker and incorporate that into your plan.
For general instructions on what to pack for your pets in their “emergency go bags”, see the ASPCA’s Disaster Preparedness page.
At LHS, our job doesn’t stop during times of crisis. Our Animal Response Team (ART) is responding to calls for emergency animal assistance. Our shelter is currently open by appointment only, with additional curb-side service in place. For additional details on how we are responding operationally to COVID-19 click here.
These extraordinary times have been disruptive to our operations, and we could use your help. The workers have had to leave the site of our kennel expansion, and we don’t know when they will be able to return. We’ve lost time and money, and are stuck in a shell of a building until we are allowed to finish the build. If you are able, please consider making a one-time or recurring donation to LHS today to help us through this time of instability.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We hope you will never need to implement your COVID-19 pet care plan, but we also hope you will be ready.
Health, compassion, and strength to you and yours.
Sincerely,
Irene Borngraeber
Executive Director, Liberty Humane Society
March 16th, 2020
LHS Animal Response Team
COVID-19 Response Plan
For the safety of our officers and the public they serve, Liberty Humane Society Animal Response Team, our Animal Control Officers, and staff are taking extra measures to mitigate the short and long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. These measures include protecting themselves properly to reduce risk of spreading the virus, as well as working to manage and minimize the number of new animals entering our shelter.
As members of the public safety community we have an obligation to perform our sworn duties during disasters both natural and man-made. To that end, the Animal Response Team will continue to respond to High priority/emergency calls. High priority/emergency calls include law enforcement assistance, injured or sick stray animals, cruelty and neglect complaints, bite complaints, and dangerous and aggressive dog complaints.
Effective immediately, the Animal Response Team is suspending Non-emergency calls and activities. Low priority/non-emergency activities include non-aggressive stray animal pick-up, leash law and licensing complaints, barking and nuisance complaints, trapping and transport of community cats, and conflict mitigation scenarios.
In addition, both Liberty Humane Society and the Animal Response Team are taking active measures to reduce nonessential shelter intake. This includes Animal Control Officers returning lost pets in the field instead of impounding them whenever possible. Additionally, non-emergency owner surrender intake has been temporarily suspended. Owners who are ill will be encouraged to keep their pets at home whenever possible. Pet owners are urged to proactively identify a family member or friend who can care for pets if someone in the household is hospitalized or becomes too ill to care for the pet.
We are placing as many animals as possible into foster care, in anticipation of further social distancing restrictions. Our foster home needs are primarily for animals with behavior challenges, who cannot live with other pets. Individuals who are willing and able to foster one of these animals should complete our foster care application.
