How is WCHS Dealing with COVID?

The Windham County Humane Society is keeping a close watch on COVID-19 developments on both a world-wide and local level.  We believe the best source for information about COVID-19 and how to halt its spread can be found on the website for the Center for Disease Control (CDC). or at the website for the World Health Organization (WHO).

Effective November 12, 2020: To support the most recent Vermont state guidelines regarding interstate travel we are temporarily ceasing to adopt to or accept surrenders of owned animals from out-of-state applicants. Our veterinary services, including spay/neuter surgeries, will also only be available to residents of Vermont. We understand the frustration this may cause and we are grateful for your understanding as we do our part to reduce possible virus transmission.

We recognize the role that our organization plays as a resource for animals and people, especially in a time of crisis and we have been deemed essential by the State of Vermont. We are taking steps to keep our limited staff healthy while complying with the CDC, state and government requirements. We are doing all we can to protect our clients, staff, volunteers and community from the spread of COVID-19 by minimizing face-to-face interactions while continuing to operate core essential services. Please continue to check this web page for our COVID-19 updates.

We want to make sure that everyone in our community can keep their pets at this time.

If You are Sick and Need Our Services:

If you are feeling ill or have had contact with anyone that has or might have COVID-19, please do not visit our facility. If you are sick with Covid-19 and need access to emergency services such as Pet Food Aid, emergency surrender of a pet, or euthanasia of a pet, please contact the Health Officer for your town. They will work with us so we can find a way to help you.


Services We Are Providing During Covid-19:

  • Pet Food Aid Program

  • Owner Surrenders of pets and help re-homing pets

  • Humane Euthanasia

  • Spay/Neuter

  • Wellness care including vaccines, parasite prevention, dentals and more.

  • Stray intake

  • ID Tags

  • Adoptions

  • Foster

  • Accepting donations!!!


Pet Food Aid Program

 We have a limited supply of pet food at the shelter. If you are already a client of our Pet Care Assistance Program, call us at 254-2232 and we can leave food in the foyer with your name on it.

If you are low on pet food, please call your local food shelf. To find your local food shelve, visit VT Foodbank. If you can’t get food through the food shelf, please give us a call. We will help if we can, and we are also collaborating to track the need. We don’t want people to have to choose between feeding their pets and feeding themselves!

Owner Surrenders

Admission services for animals will continue and animals will be admitted by appointment only. Please call 802-254-2232 and leave us a message. Calls will be returned as soon as possible. If the need to surrender your pet is not urgent, we can work with you to make sure you have what you need to keep your pet. This will allow us to ensure room for emergency surrenders.

Housing: One of the biggest reasons for surrendering a pet is moving or the loss of a home or apartment. The pandemic has led to a rise in unemployment and a loss of income. With the unemployment benefit decreasing after July, there is concern throughout the world of animal welfare around people and their pets losing their homes. Luckily for Vermonters, the state has used some of the CARES funding for rental and landlord assistance. Are you worried about your housing, or do you know someone who is? Check out these resources and please share!

Humane Euthanasia

If your pet is in crisis and needs humane euthanasia, and you do not have a regular veterinarian, or cannot afford vet clinic fees, please call us. Leave your name, pet’s information and a call back number. We will return your call as soon as possible. Please be aware that if we provide this service, you animal’s remains will be group cremated and the ashes spread in a memorial garden at Final Gift (formerly White Rose) in Brattleboro.

Spay/Neuter and Vaccines

If you can afford a full-service vet clinic, please give them your business! We need to do all we can to support our awesome local veterinarians! We are open for spay/neuter surgeries. When you schedule you can request other services such as vaccines, flea/tick treatment, microchipping, ear cleaning and nail trimming. If you cannot afford one of our local veterinary clinics, please fill out an application for our Pet Care Assistance Program. 

Stray Intake

With limited staff, we need to keep our in-house population as low as possible. If you have found a free-roaming adult cat that looks healthy, please remember that most cats have a home. There is no leash law for cats, so it is entirely normal for cats to roam their neighborhoods at will. Bringing them to the shelter actually decreases their chances of getting back home to their families. Many free-roaming unowned cats are already fixed and vaccinated thanks to our many years of services to colony managers, and are happy and healthy where they are. If you find a stray animal that is injured or in distress, please contact the Animal Control Officer (ACO) for your town. They will work with us to determine a course of action.

Kittens

Protocol for kittens has not really changed during the pandemic. If you find kittens, please, please leave them where you find them. If you can monitor and make sure the mother is returning to feed and care for them, that is ideal. Kittens that are brought to the shelter or a home with no mother are highly likely to die. Feral mommas can be very shy and secretive. They will not come out to care for their babies if you are too close to their babies. If you find kittens you are concerned about, please call your ACO or WCHS for advice. Or check out the awesome Kitten Lady website!

Adoptions

Animals will be available for adoption as they become available, by appointment only. Our website is up to date. Please call 802-254-2232 if you see an animal that you would like to meet. We will arrange a meet and greet using safe social distancing and virtual adoption practices.

ID Tags

Having an ID tag is more important than ever, so that if your pet gets out, they get home quickly and safely. Rabies tags and microchips are important too, but they don’t allow the average citizen to get a pet back home. We often cannot find an owner via a rabies tag that was issued at a town vaccine clinic. Microchips are great, but without a scanner you can’t read them, and people sometimes forget to keep their contact info up-to-date with their microchip company. Therefore, we recommend ID tags with your address and cell phone number on them. For just $12, we will custom engrave your tag and pop it in the mail to you. We can also ship you break-away, reflective cat collars for just $5 and a martingale dog collar for $10. Still employed? Pay it forward and buy a tag and/or collar for someone who can’t afford to.

Fostering Animals

We have received many inquiries from people interested in helping out by fostering animals.  First, we thank you for your interest, but currently our needs have been met by our existing foster caregivers, and we thank them for their dedication! You can fill out a foster application here, just know you may not get a call right away.

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HOW YOU CAN HELP

Donations

This is our biggest need at this time. Our income, like most people’s, has dropped significantly, and while we are being as frugal as possible, we still need to pay our awesome core staff, stock medical supplies, care for in-house and community pets, and more. The most useful thing you can do for us right now is to sign up for our Pet Pal Program with a recurring monthly donation of ANY AMOUNT! Thank you for your generosity.

Online donations can be made here. 

Or you can mail a gift to:

WCHS
PO Box 397
Brattleboro, VT 05301

Other ways to help!

  • Share our Facebook social media posts about adoptable animals so that more people can see them

  • Purchase items from our Amazon Wish List.

  • Purchase small bags of dry cat and dog kibble and drop them by the shelter or donate to your local food bank. Order through Amazon Smile and name us as your charity of choice. You can have the items delivered directly to us, and we receive a portion of the proceeds!

in-Kind Donations

Please note that we CANNOT ACCEPT LINENS (BED SHEETS, BLANKETS, COMFORTERS OR TOWELS), or used items at this time. Please refrain from dropping them off. They will be discarded.

COVID-19 And Your Pets

While the focus of COVID-19 health issues has been on people, there have been questions raised about whether or not pets can become infected by - or become carriers of - COVID-19.  

Here is some of the latest news on that front:

https://americanpetsalive.org/blog/why-two-pet-cats-with-covid-19-in-new-york-shouldnt-worry-you

 Pet parents are encouraged to develop an emergency preparedness plan for their pets should someone in your home become ill or hospitalized. Please have an individual selected to care for your pet in the event of an emergency, and prepare a “Go Bag” for your animal(s) with at least two weeks of pet supplies.

https://support.bestfriends.org/site/DocServer/Pet_Preparedness_Plan.pdf?docID=1088