Lend a paw
How you can help animal shelters, rescues and others during the pandemic
While his wife is in lockdown in COVID-19-ravaged northern Italy, Randy Badway is offering free pet boarding or day care to people affected by the new coronavirus.
On Wednesday, five dogs were daytime guests at his PawSpa Resort in Carrick because their owners are doctors and nurses working long hours. Mr. Badway is also offering three free days and nights of boarding for the pets of people who are hospitalized with the virus.
Mr. Badway is one of many people caring for animals during this crisis. The list includes veterinarians and their staffs, shops that sell pet food, and employees and volunteers at area animal shelters and rescue groups. Allegheny County’s two biggest shelters are closed to the public, but both can adopt out animals by appointment. Their volunteers still are walking dogs and cuddling with cats.
Humane Animal Rescue has about 120 dogs, cats and rabbits. Sixty are in shelters in Homewood and the North Side. and 60 are in foster homes. The rescue also cares for injured and orphaned wildlife in its Verona rehabilitation center.
Animal Friends in Ohio Township has 272 animals total — 114 cats, 43 dogs and 14 rabbits at the shelter, and 40 cats, 59 dogs and two rabbits are in foster homes.
Both shelters would love to have more foster homes and the money to care for more animals. But their fundraising events have been canceled, and donations have dropped while revenue from training classes and other income-generating programs has disappeared. Now more than ever, shelters and rescues are depending on animal lovers to help them through this crisis.
On Friday morning Animal Friends announced the temporary layoff of 33 employees, reduction in hours for 16 employees, and temporary pay reductions for managers and “senior leadership.” On a normal day, 100 employees work on site at the Ohio Township shelter.
PawSpa Resort is also struggling, but that hasn’t stopped Mr. Badway from offering to help people and their animals.
”I can’t control what happens with COVID-19, but we have opened our doors to people who need help,” he said.
While living in Italy for 30 years, he met and married his wife, Daniela. Last November, Mr. Badway and the couple’s son, Sean, moved back and bought this boarding and day care facility from Ron and Dee Gruendl, who had opened the business in 2013. Mrs. Badway’s plans to join her family have been indefinitely delayed because of COVID-19.
“Daniela is well, but she has been in the house with two dogs for 2½ weeks,” her husband said.
With people working from home, there are no paying customers for boarding or day care. Because the state has deemed the business essential, Mr. Badway has kept his doors open with limited staff, including Mrs. Gruendl, who works there three days per week. She helps take care of two cats who live at PawSpa through its relationship with the nonprofit Foster Cat Inc.
For more information, call 412444-7020 or go to www.pawsparesortpittsburgh.com.
At Animal Friends, about 25% of the kennel space is currently open and available to pet owners who have to be hospitalized, said Kathleen Beaver, president and CEO. If more animals are adopted or placed in foster homes, more space will be freed up. Earlier this week, about 25 of the shelter’s 100 employees were working in the shelter; the others were working at home.
The temporary layoffs are “an incredibly difficult decision to make,” Ms. Beaver said in a Friday morning news release. “And as heartbreaking as it is we have to make these temporary deep cuts in our expenses for the viability and long-term health of our organization.”
“In an incredible show of support,” Ms. Beaver said, 57 volunteers regularly walk dogs on the 75-acre wooded campus, socialize with cats and help with cleaning.
Spay/neuter surgeries are canceled as are wellness appointments with veterinarians. The Chow Wagon is still providing pet food to food pantries and needy individuals. Information: thinkingoutsidethecage.org or 412-847-7000.
In normal times, Humane Animal Rescue’s two shelters take in stray dogs picked up by Pittsburgh Animal Control. But now very few dogs are coming in for cases deemed emergencies, said Dan Rossi, chief executive officer. The shelter is closed to owner surrenders except for emergencies.
The Wildlife Rehabilitation Center is not taking in any more animals. Employees who care for orphaned and injured animals must have state licenses “and if they get sick” from contact with people dropping off wildlife, “there would be no one to care for the animals, Mr. Rossi said.
Spay/neuter surgeries are canceled as are wellness clinics. Sick animals will be treated, but owners must wait in their cars. “End of life” services will be available.
“With people at home, this is a wonderful time for adoption,” Mr. Rossi said. “We have seen an increase in demand, and a lot of people are reaching out to foster.”
Information: humaneanimalrescue.org or call 412345-7300.
Check the websites and social media pages of shelters and rescues to learn the status of their operations due to the coronavirus.