Shelter on normal hours

The Montgomery County Animal Resource Center returned to normal hours and restored services on Monday. The county’s animal shelter had reduced hours and staffing to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

The shelter will continue to encourage social distancing within the facility by limiting public visitors to five at a time. To ensure everyone has access to in-person services, visits will be limited to 10 minutes.

Anyone who encounters a stray dog is encouraged to attempt to find the owner by checking with neighbors, posting on social media, and calling the shelter for guidance. If attempts to reunite the dog with its owner aren’t successful, call the Animal Resource Center at 937-898-4457, and the shelter will dispatch an Animal Care and Control Officer to assist.

To meet the goal of connecting pets to forever homes, the Animal Resource Center has established its own foster program. The program will create a network of foster families who can temporarily care for animals in their homes before they can be permanently adopted.

Applications for the foster program are currently available online at www.mcanimals.org/get-involved/. That webpage also has an application for people wishing to volunteer to care for animals housed in the shelter.

Business hours are being restored to: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (for lost and found searches only).

Anyone wishing to adopt a dog can visit www.mcanimals. org before visiting the shelter to view all adoptable pets. Anyone who has lost a dog can also view all lost and found dogs through that website. Reach the Animal Resource Center by phone at 937-898-4457.

STAFF REPORT