GMHS COVID-19 Response Update
In our COVID-19 response, the GMHS team strives to be as mindful and deliberate as possible. Our commitment to being supportive, careful, alert, and kind guides our efforts as we honor our responsibility to the communities and homeless pets we serve.
Following the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to limit groups of 10 or more people in public and until further notice, GMHS continues to limit entry to our shelter to team members performing essential functions. Below are more details about our efforts to protect team members and the public while continuing to save and transform the lives of homeless pets:
Adoptions - Adoptions continue to be conducted by appointment only and with an approved adoption questionnaire. You will be excited to know this approach is working: We are making more heart connections than ever before. If you, too, want to welcome a pet into your heart and home, click
here
to view pets available for adoption and submit your adoption questionnaire electronically.
Managed Intake
- Our longstanding practice of managed intake, which ensures GMHS remains a life-saving shelter, is unchanged. Please call (804) 693-5520 ext. 308 or email
sheltermanager@gmhumanesociety.org
to schedule an appointment to surrender a pet.
Pet Pantry
- Our Pet Pantry remains open with curbside service. Please visit our Intake entrance, ring the doorbell, and return to your vehicle. A team member--wearing a mask and practicing social distancing--will assist you.
Volunteers - A phased plan for volunteers to return to the shelter will be communicated to current volunteers by Volunteer Manager
Waynette Petty. We hope to resume training of new volunteers in the late-summer/early-fall timeframe.
Fixin' to Save Spay & Neuter Clinic - The clinic continues to offer curbside check-in and check-out, and clinic team members wear masks and practice social distancing. Please call (804) 694-0349 to schedule an appointment for your pet's affordable spay/neuter surgery.
For shelter-related inquiries not addressed above, do not hesitate to call (804) 693-5520 ext. 308 or 310 or email
sheltermanager@gmhumanesociety.org. We are committed to keeping you informed and being accessible.
As we have all experienced, COVID-19 presents a fluid situation. Know our moral and ethical obligation to do what is best for the pets in our care and the people who deliver and receive our services will continue to guide our response.
Our thanks to all of our friends and clients for having the courage to embrace change and be flexible, especially as it means saving even more lives. We are equally grateful for your ongoing support and steadfast friendship.
You
are the reason we have continued to stay healthy and safe and deliver services uninterrupted throughout our COVID-19 response!
With gratitude,
April Martinez
GMHS Executive Director
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May 2020 Heart Connections
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May proved to be an amazing month for the homeless pets of GMHS and the Gloucester County Animal Control Shelter. Leveraging technology and having the courage to try new approaches is paying off in heart connections made: In just the first 18 days of the month, our May 2019 adoption total was surpassed. A total of
31 pets were adopted into their forever homes in May 2020!
Our May adoption successes are due in large part to a more convenient electronic
process for submitting questionnaires. Dog adoption appointments continue to be held in the GMHS play yard, and cat meet and greets are taking place on our lanai. We have even FaceTimed with prospective adopters. The GMHS team is excited to maintain this adoption momentum going forward!
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May 2020 Shelter Snapshot
The generous support of staff, volunteers, and donors enables GMHS to provide daily care, cover special medical needs, foster animals in homes as needed, and arrange transportation to adoption-guaranteed partners. We are also committed to education, outreach, and transparency. Our annual statistics are available on our
website
, and we also offer you a monthly snapshot.
In May 2020, 31 pets found their forever homes, including seven rabbits. We are thankful for all of the adopters who welcomed a now
formerly homeless pet into their lives.
As sometimes happens, joy is accompanied by sorrow. In May 2020, we had the heartbreaking task of euthanizing six cats after consulting with our veterinary team and exhausting treatment options. Five of the cats were terminally ill, including two with cancer and one with advanced kidney disease, and one could not be safely placed in the community due to aggression.
2020 year-to-date, 12 pets have been euthanized at GMHS. Every pet's life is valuable, and GMHS is fortunate to have access to the resources necessary to ensure pets are neither euthanized for length of stay nor space. It is precisely your support that makes ours a
life-saving shelter.
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Despite COVID-19, the GMHS team has been hard at work transporting dogs and cats to our adoption-guaranteed partners throughout the mid-Atlantic region. It brings us great joy to highlight a recent local effort between GMHS and Norfolk SPCA.
In early May, GMHS transferred six dogs to Norfolk SPCA through our Highway to Home program. Within the month, all six dogs, including
Chonk (pictured above), were adopted. The process worked so well that Norfolk SPCA intends to transfer more dogs from GMHS during the month of June with high hopes for repeated success.
Thank you to Norfolk SPCA and all of our adoption-guaranteed partners for helping pets find their Highway to Home!
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Fixin' to Save Spay & Neuter Clinic Renovation Completed
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You will recognize the above photos of the the clinic renovation from last month's newsletter. Now, check out the
virtual tour of the completed project!
Thank you to everyone who made this project a success, including our friends at
Eagle Construction United, Inc.,
The J. Edwin Treakle Foundation, and our 2019 oyster roast guests who donated to fully fund the clinic renovation. Our clinic is poised to help more clients and their pets than ever before because of you!
The clinic continues to schedule surgery appointments and has implemented a curbside check-in/check-out process in response to COVID-19. Call (804) 694-0349 today to book your pet's appointment. Stay in touch with the clinic team by visiting them on the
web
and
Facebook.
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Best Friend Boredom Busters
Being homebound does not mean you and your pet have to be bored together. Both physical and mental exercise are a critical part of having a happy, healthy, well-behaved pet. Your pets can absolutely find joy in new activities around the house.
Try some of these suggestions, and get ready for some fun:
- A scavenger hunt creates a challenge with a delicious reward. While your pet waits in one room or behind a gate, hide his or her favorite treats around the house or yard.
- Try agility. If your dog has already mastered sit and stay, try teaching new words such as over and under using a chair. Your cat can be trained to jump from one chair to another with a little motivation, too. Grab a favorite toy or treats, and begin with chairs spaced closely together. Then, slowly move them farther apart as your cat completes each jump.
- Puzzles are fun for everyone. Grab a few lightweight cups, and put a treat under one. Mix them all up, and let your pet figure out where it went.
- Cook together. Search for some pet-friendly recipes, and be sure to let your pet lick the spoon. Or, skip the baking entirely. At GMHS, one of our favorite summer treats for our pups is home made ice pops. Using paper cups and chicken broth, you can create frozen treats that provide summer fun!
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Support GMHS and Save Lives
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When making a
contribution to GMHS, we invite you to join our Faithful Friends. (Just check the box when donating to make yours a monthly gift.)
Our Faithful Friends and their sustaining contributions help make our life-saving mission possible, and we thank you for your support!
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GMHS is neither affiliated with any national animal welfare organizations nor do we receive funding from the ASPCA or the Humane Society of the United States.
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Like and follow GMHS on social media to be in-the-know about the latest shelter news, homeless pets available for adoption, adoption success stories, and more!
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