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Lexington Humane Society sees challenges during pandemic

Posted at 8:25 AM, Apr 29, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-29 08:25:25-04

LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Everyone has been affected in some way by the COVID-19 pandemic and that includes animals and staff at the Lexington Humane Society.

The satellite adoption center at the Hamburg PetSmart is still open, but the main adoption building has been closed to the public. That also means no volunteers are allowed in the building.

“We have a base of over 300 volunteers. One hundred of them or more are very active and the animals love getting that extra TLC,” said Director of Fundraising Ashley Hammond.

Hammond says the animals are still getting plenty of care and attention. One way they make up for fewer visitors is by relying on their foster families.

“We have about 80 animals in foster care. A lot of those are available for adoptions,” said Hammond. “We rely on our foster families so much to make sure that these guys stay engaged and that they stay happy. We have so many new foster families. They were knocking on our doors pretty much saying, ‘hey, we want to help.’”

Hammond says there’s also been a drastic decrease in animals that have come into the facility, which means a lower adoption rate than normal this time of year. When there are adoptions, staff members make sure to follow safety guidelines.

“We’re doing everything we can to make sure that we’re continuing to get these animals out into forever homes,” she said. “We are discussing adoption information with our adopters over the phone. We are allowing one individual at a time to come into the adoption facility.”

Another challenge Hammond says is that monetary donations are down, which she expected to happen during this time.

The humane society is pushing through and staff members look forward to when visitors can come back to see the animals again.