NORFOLK, Va. — Animal shelters in the region are adapting their services to protect against the spread of coronavirus. Here's a breakdown of the changes by locality.
Chesapeake:
The Chesapeake Humane Society closed to the public on March 17, but it is still processing adoption applications and scheduling pet meet-and-greets by appointment only. The organization's vaccine clinics have also been changed to appointment-only.
Gloucester:
The Gloucester-Matthews Humane Society closed to visitors on March 23 and said it planned to reopen on April 23. A release on the shelter's website said the humane society is still scheduling adoption appointments.
Hampton:
Hampton's Animal Aid Society has switched adoption meetings to appointment only, to make sure visitors have room to stay 6-10 feet away from each other, and to ensure the organization has time to sufficiently clean. People can schedule a meeting any day of the week between 9 a.m. and noon.
Cat Corner is allowing adoptions by appointment only, provided potential adopters are not feeling sick. Even though the shelter is closed to the general public, it invited people to enjoy the furry felines by watching live videos of its cats on the Cat Corner website.
James City County:
The Heritage Humane Society is adopting dogs and cats out by appointment only. To keep their staff healthy, the shelter is temporarily not accepting donations of open bags of pet food, linens, towels, or any yard sale donations.
Newport News:
The Peninsula Regional Animal Shelter announced Monday that it would only offer dog and cat adoptions by appointment, to limit the number of people in their facility at once. The appointments are being held in 45-minute intervals during their regular adoption hours.
Norfolk:
The Norfolk SPCA is limiting the number of people who can visit the shelter in-person, and is also limiting the number of volunteers to comply with social distancing regulations. It is asking for increased donations of cleaning supplies like dish soap and laundry detergent, and is collecting dog and cat food for its Emergency Pet Pantry, to help pet owners who have been financially affected by coronavirus.
The Norfolk Animal Care and Adoption Center is adopting pets out by appointment, as long as people fill out applications first and agree to meet the pet outside its facility. No volunteers are being allowed in the building as long as city buildings are closed.
Portsmouth:
The Portsmouth Humane Society is adopting out pets by appointment only, has committed to extra cleaning at its facility and has changed the items they are accepting as donations. It will temporarily not be accepting used items like linens - but said it has a need cleaning products like bleach, soap and paper towels.
Suffolk:
The Suffolk Humane Society started coronavirus adjustments on March 16. Since then, the shelter has been open to visitors by appointment only.
Virginia Beach:
The Virginia Beach SPCA has an extensive plan on its website that lays out how each service will continue to be available to the public, if limited. Animal visitation has been restricted to appointments only, and people getting vaccines could be asked to wait for their appointment in their cars.
Hope for Life Rescue said it would allow visitors inside if they had an appointment and an approved adoption application.
Virginia Beach Care and Adoption Center said it would stay open for its normal hours, but would only take guests by appointment. The shelter posted an appointment schedule at the top of its Facebook Page, so interested parties can know ahead of time when they would be able to visit.