Hi everyone- Here are your updates for this week:
ADOPTIONS:  Adoptions will continue by appointment Monday through Saturday. Empty the Shelters is next weekend, July 10-12. All adult dogs and cats as well as small animals will be fee waived.
The Hallmark Channel will be at the shelter next Tuesday from 8-11 am filming a follow up to the Bissell animals that came from Louisiana earlier this spring. They will also be going to Henry and Timon/Pumbaa's adopter's homes to film follow ups with them.
STAFFING: Animal care staff will be returning to their normal schedules starting on Sunday. Vet staff will go back to their normal schedules once everyone's vacations are complete in a couple of weeks. Sabrina is moving to the foster program, Jessica will be in the clinic 3 days a week and we will be hiring another part time technician/assistant to work in the clinic. If you are interested in applying, please send me a resume.
I would like to remind everyone to please respect people's time away from the shelter. Please do not contact staff members outside of their normal working hours or while they are on vacation unless it is an emergency. It is extremely important for everyone to have a break from work!
FELINE BEHAVIOR: We will be adding a feline behavior page to our website in the near future. This will include our organizational statement on declawing and why we don't support it.
GARAGE: We have an abundance of cat and dog treats. Please let Julie know if you can use any or know of other organizations that can use them. Please only put treats that are in sealed plastic bags/containers in the garage. Any cardboard or opened containers should go to the kennel kitchen so we don't get moths in them.
COVID: Please make sure anyone that is in the building is wearing a mask correctly-staff, volunteers, public. With the recent increase in cases in our area it is more important than ever. During the course of the shutdown, we have had a few staff members that have been exposed to covid positive individuals. No one on our staff has tested positive. Should that occur, we will shut down for a day or 2 for a deep cleaning of the shelter, the positive staff member will quarantine for 14 days, and everyone else will continue to work their normal schedules. The state has removed the requirement that anyone exposed must quarantine. We will continue to monitor any changes at the state level and each new executive order in the coming days. 
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVENESS: The management team met yesterday to discuss how we as an organization can be more intentional and inclusive for our community as it pertains to our mission. There is a great article for animal welfare specific things that can be found here: http://www.thesniff.com/blm/
Finally here are our adoption and return numbers for the second quarter for you to review. Our numbers have been affected in comparison to last year due to the shutdown and the smaller number of animals in our care. We are slowly increasing our numbers and hope to be back to normal in the next couple of months.

I hope everyone has a good holiday weekend and that you all get the chance to enjoy some time away from work and do something fun! Please let me know if you have questions or would like more info on anything.
Best,
Holly