COVID-19 has changed our profession, possibly forever, and in many ways, for the better. We have started having real discussions with our state and local governments on what it means to be essential. We have adapted our shelter intake models, seeing intakes drop and adoptions soar. In light of these remarkable changes, you would expect to see the staff morale at our facilities sky-high, right? And maybe you are seeing that. But, if you, or your teammates are in a slump right now, it’s okay.
If your agency stopped taking non-critical intakes or calls for service, you likely feel like you’ve been running from one emergency to the next. That your kennels only have profoundly ill, injured or aggressive animals in them. That your citizens are stressed out and overwhelmed and those emotions are getting thrown at you, and if any of these feelings resonate with you, know that you are not alone.
Loudoun County Animal Services (LCAS) is a municipal animal services agency, in a community of about 400,000 people. Normally, this time of year, kittens are arriving at our door by the boxload, while calls for service on dogs running at large and concerns over wildlife keep everyone busy. This year, however, after closing to intakes, other than stray dogs (per county code) and urgent surrenders, our intake numbers dropped by over 70%. One the outside, this seems amazing- and it is! But while the animals still arriving are the same critical or aggressive cases we would normally receive, the boxes of kittens and “I’m moving” dogs aren’t coming in. This means that our staff are missing out on the happy endings that we all got into the field to experience, and don’t quite get the break in between tough cases that we are used to. And those tough cases might either feel harder, or they might actually be harder. Here in Loudoun, we have seen a sudden, substantial increase in violent crimes against animals locally, and bites where owners are the victim have gone up 72% in the past two months. While we should all be proud of the hard work we have done to make positive change, there is no shame in admitting that the current environment is a challenging one for us and our teammates, and these challenges go well beyond our trucks and kennels. Some of our colleagues are struggling to balance childcare, vulnerable family members and compromised income, along with the new stresses of work in a different environment. While we are all going through this pandemic together, we all have our own lives to balance with an already complex profession.
At LCAS, we are trying to keep the environment as low stress as possible- starting a staff garden, hosting grill-out Thursdays in the employee parking lot, permitting pets at work for our shelter staff and dispatchers, making sure everyone has PPE and what they need to feel safe, while allowing telework as much as possible and being flexible with staff schedules. No one has ever said that being essential is an easy job, but it is one that we have taken on with pride. And while the community trusts us to take care of their animals, we need to make sure we are also taking care of ourselves. Reduced intakes does not mean reduced stress.
There is no better time than the present to look after your own mental well-being. If you need to take time for yourself or your family, related to COVID-19, there are federal workplace protections in place for you. If you are feeling overwhelmed, you are not alone. Don’t hesitate to reach out to colleagues, to your locality’s EAP, professional therapists, hotlines or other support networks. Times are changing, and in many ways, it is for the better, but it doesn’t mean that your struggles should be discounted. Recognizing our challenges is the first step in resilience, and while our stats, our resources and our communities are different, we are all in this together. And when we come out on the other side (are we there yet?), I want you all here alongside me to try to tackle the next round of progress in animal services.
Nina Stively is the Director of Loudoun County Animal Services, a municipal agency in northern Virginia, handling animal sheltering, humane law enforcement and community programs for a community of about 400,000 people, full of companion animals, livestock and wildlife.
NACA has received questions regarding interactions with wildlife during COVID-19. Here is what we have learned from the nation’s leading experts on wildlife and COVID-19.
First, it is important to remember that at this time the most likely route of exposure is between two human beings. Wildlife is, by nature, usually leery of humans which means their contact time with an infected/shedding individual is going to be minimal.
At this time, there is an unknown risk level associated with wildlife and their ability to carry the virus that causes the disease known as COVID-19. Animal Care & Control professionals may be required to interact with sick, injured, or displaced wildlife as part of their essential duties, and because of the unknown risk, they should do so with an abundance of caution. Following the PPE guidance provided in the NACA Statement on Officer Safety during the COVID-19 Pandemic is recommended to ensure Animal Care & Control staff safety when interacting with wildlife.
Additionally, NACA recommends stopping intake of all ‘nuisance’ wildlife and not interacting with healthy wildlife unless absolutely necessary.
NACA will continue to monitor the recommendations associated with Wildlife and COVID-19, and encourages you to review the following resources related to the topic:
For years all of us in the Animal Welfare field have fought to gain traction and support for spay/neuter services in its varying iterations, most especially pre-adoption sterilization performed by our agencies or community partners to assist in the reduction of pet overpopulation and unintended breeding. Now amidst the rest of the chaos that has come from the COVID-19 pandemic, we are being asked and asking our agencies and partners to stop this essential service in an effort to conserve medical supplies.
Who would have ever thought that we as Animal Welfare Professionals would ever be the voices saying, “No, we will be adopting and otherwise placing animals without sterilizing them first, and that is okay?” Yet here we are.
It is imperative during this time to understand the “Why” behind this decision, and that why looks a bit different for every community but has a shared theme.
While we as Animal Welfare professionals still consider pre-adoption sterilization an essential service, we are beyond that terminology now in the COVID-19 pandemic. We have reached a point at which we should be conserving supplies for the treatment of human victims of the pandemic and other life-threatening conditions and animals in need of surgical intervention due to life-threatening conditions.
Emergency Life-Threatening Conditions are a reality of everyday life for people and pets, and in veterinary healthcare can include a variety of conditions such as:
- A pet being hit by a car
- Laceration requiring surgical intervention
- Gastric Foreign body removal
- Gastric Dilation & Volvulus (GDV)
- Hemoabdomen
- Pyometra (which will result in the female being spayed)
- C-Section
- And many more
It is vital that when discussing this change with our staff, volunteers, communities, and stakeholders, we include the following information:
- This is a TEMPORARY change dictated by a national emergency, NOT a philosophical change regarding the essential nature of spay/neuter services under normal operating conditions
- Inability to sterilize pet’s pre-adoption is NOT and CANNOT BE justification for unnecessary euthanasia
- This is larger than Animal Welfare and our missions, we are in a state of national emergency and must think in broader terms of public health and safety.
- This is a marathon, not a sprint, and it is imperative that we continue to focus on the fact that We are ALL in this Together!
A top priority of Animal Services agencies on any given day is the safety and well being of our teams, and this could not be more true during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Knowledge is power, and as we learn more and more about the virus that causes COVID-19 we have come to understand that the direct risk for our animal care workers has been reduced. According to the CDC “[a]t this time, there is no evidence that the virus that causes COVID-19 can spread to people from the skin or fur of pets.” This information allows us to take a deep breath (metaphorically, as we don’t want to breath in any potential contagions) when it comes to our animal care teams caring for animals coming into our facilities from the community, but what about our staff members interacting directly with the public?
Animal Services agencies have multiple staff members who are interfacing with the public in a variety of ways, but customer service team member and animal control field officers are among those who interact fact-to-face with the public most frequently. Customer service team members can mitigate risk through use of appropriate persona protective equipment (PPE), scheduled services such as adoptions, foster pick-up, or pet reclaims, and limiting face-to-face contact as much as possible by using drive through type service arrangements. Field operations staff on the other hand are out in the community and may encounter any number of situations.
Animal Control Officers (ACO) and other Animal Services Field Operations personnel are some of the front-line employees most likely to encounter situations in which there is a know or suspected positive case of the virus that causes COVID-19. Here is a situation that we know as happened in many communities across the United States:
An ACO receives an assist other agency call and responds to find that they are being asked to enter the home of a known or suspected positive COVID-19 patient in order to retrieve an animal due to the owner being transported to a medical facility for admittance and care. There are no family members or neighbors who have entered the home and are able to assist. The ACO must enter the home to retrieve the canine.
In an ideal situation this ACO will have all appropriate PPE including gown, mask, and gloves that can be put on before entering and disposed of once the animal is secured on their vehicle. What we are hearing however is that in many communities PPE is limited, and Animal Control staff are not necessarily making the cut to receive any. This is unacceptable. ACOs are first responders and when put in a situation such as this they should be afforded any and all necessary to complete their job in the safest manner possible.
NACA acknowledges that our nation is facing a PPE shortage and encourages all Animal Services agencies to discontinue non-essential surgical/other medical and operations procedures requiring the use of PPE. This does not however include field operations. Situations like the above are essential operations and ACOs or other Animal Services Field Operations personnel must be appropriately outfitted to execute their essential job functions safely.
Dr. Fisher has an educational background in population management/medicine, public health, veterinary sciences, informatics, and healthcare administration. He has been working in the veterinary medical/animal welfare field for over 15 years holding management roles in private practices, cooperate practices, the NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine, county government, and now as the Animal Services Director for the City of Charlotte/Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. A strong advocate for professional development and growth in the animal welfare industry, Josh seeks to involve staff in continued education and training opportunities as well as in cutting edge industry research. His professional interests focus on disease reduction/prevention, advanced marketing/placement and intake reduction tactics, strategic planning, and staff career development in the area of animal welfare. His projects include increasing interest of veterinary/veterinary technician students in the animal welfare industry as well as working with community veterinarians to break down barriers, develop relationships, and increase involved in community focused animal welfare (animal control and sheltering) practices. It is a passion of Josh’s to bring a level of awareness to the animal welfare industry in such a way that young adults and college students make the decision to pursue animal welfare as a profession rather than falling into it by chance.
Animal control and animal welfare in general have been forced to think outside the box for years, and COVID-19 is no different. In fact, this pandemic has sparked many agencies to begin following some of the nationally-recognized and growing best practice models. These include reducing the number of animals housed in physical sheltering facilities and increasing the numbers being routinely housed in foster care and in the community.
The National Animal Care & Control Association (NACA) is striving daily to ensure that we are providing each of our members as well as other animal control officers across the country with the support and information they need.
As of now NACA has published the following list of position statements, which are intended to provide guidance to shelters struggling to make sound decisions that balance lifesaving and animal control functions. They are:
NACA is also working actively with our partner organizations on the national level to develop and distribute information. We have worked with organizations such as American Pets Alive, The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement (The Association), The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), Best Friends Animal Society, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Maddie’s Fund, and many more. Here are a few links to tool kits that may help you in developing policies, procedures, and programs in order to maintain or enhance your operations during this pandemic:
Now we want to hear from you, the members that we serve and who are boots on the ground getting the essential work done during this challenging time! What are your current fears, concerns, and needs? How can NACA help? Please share in the comments below what information NACA can work on pulling together to aid you in the best way possible. We are here as a resource for you and we want to ensure that we are providing you with the most impactful position statements, letters of support, and information that you can use to influence, encourage, and directly implement change to ensure the good work you do day in and day out not only survives, but thrives in this time of need!
Dr. Fisher has an educational background in population management/medicine, public health, veterinary sciences, informatics, and healthcare administration. He has been working in the veterinary medical/animal welfare field for over 15 years holding management roles in private practices, cooperate practices, the NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine, county government, and now as the Animal Services Director for the City of Charlotte/Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. A strong advocate for professional development and growth in the animal welfare industry, Josh seeks to involve staff in continued education and training opportunities as well as in cutting edge industry research. His professional interests focus on disease reduction/prevention, advanced marketing/placement and intake reduction tactics, strategic planning, and staff career development in the area of animal welfare. His projects include increasing interest of veterinary/veterinary technician students in the animal welfare industry as well as working with community veterinarians to break down barriers, develop relationships, and increase involved in community focused animal welfare (animal control and sheltering) practices. It is a passion of Josh’s to bring a level of awareness to the animal welfare industry in such a way that young adults and college students make the decision to pursue animal welfare as a profession rather than falling into it by chance.
