April 16, 2009

The Catawba County Animal Shelter will put new public operating hours in place beginning Friday, May 1, 2009. The shelter will be open to the public from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, with Saturday public hours to expand to 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

The change follows a six month study of visiting patterns at the shelter and will allow staff additional time to keep the shelter clean, and to examine and treat animals. The change is also expected to reduce shelter expenses by decreasing costs for staff overtime.

“Most shelters in North Carolina, including the Catawba County Humane Society’s shelter, don’t open to the public until 11 a.m. or 12 Noon,” said Jay Blatche, Catawba County’s Animal Services Manager. “This gives staff time to properly clean and disinfect the shelter, and to treat animals as needed. The schedule changes we are making beginning May 1st will create a healthier environment for the animals, staff and public. Our staff currently has only one hour to clean and disinfect the shelter before opening it to the public. It is physically impossible for staff in a shelter with an average of 200 animals to make it presentable to the public in an hour.”

The shelter is currently open Mondays and Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9:00 am to 5:00 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

“Staff working on Mondays and Wednesdays now must put in two hours of overtime. On all days, staff must stop cleaning to assist the public considering the adoption of animals, and those surrendering animals and returning lost or stray animals,” Blatche said. “We have tracked the number of people visiting the shelter daily for six months. The shelter averages three visits between the hours of 5 and 7 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. Most adoptions are occurring after 12 Noon, Monday through Friday.

“Having the shelter open on Saturdays has been a success,” Blatche added. “We have averaged ten adoptions and approximately thirty visitors on Saturdays. We believe the change in hours will not result in a major inconvenience for citizens and will better allow us to create a healthy environment for animals and visitors, which will help us further our ongoing efforts to increase animal adoptions.”

For more information on the new public hours at the Catawba County Animal Shelter, or the shelter itself, you may call 828-465-8228.