The Chemung County SPCA is closely monitoring the ongoing situation with Coronavirus known as COVID-19. We have been in touch with local health officials to stay informed and develop a response plan. The safety and well-being of the animals already in our care, our staff, volunteers and the community at large is a top priority for us. Our shelter is a very high-traffic business and it is imperative that we take steps to minimize COVID-19 exposure to our employees. We have animals to care for and need healthy people to provide that care.
Therefore, in line with the state government’s recommendation to promote social distancing by reducing facility capacity by 50%, we are instituting the following changes as of Monday, March 16th:
Therefore, in line with the state government’s recommendation to promote social distancing by reducing facility capacity by 50%, we are instituting the following changes as of Monday, March 16th:
- Animal surrenders and adoptions will be scheduled appointments. If you need to surrender an animal or would like to adopt a specific animal, please call us at 607-732-1827 for an appointment. Appointments will be scheduled Mon, Tue, Thurs, Fri and Sat between 11am and 4pm.
- Patrons of our pet food pantry and other services are encouraged to also call for an appointment to pick up pet food.
- Adoptable cats can be seen here. And adoptable dogs can be seen here. If you see an animal in which you are interested, you can still visit the animal, you just need to schedule an appointment to do so.
- While we greatly appreciate all those who simply come to visit with the animals, we are discouraging the general public from such visits until there is greater clarity regarding the COVID-19 outbreak and further guidance from government officials regarding best practices for dealing with the outbreak.
- For the time being, our spay/neuter clinics will proceed as usual and we are still accepting applications for future clinics.
- We do not take these steps lightly and are sorry for any inconvenience these temporary changes may cause. Please know that we are taking these steps to protect the health of our staff, their families, our volunteers and the community at large. Equally important, we are taking these steps to ensure we can continue providing for the animals who are already in our care.