Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley Takes Step Closer to Normal
Monday, the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley received a special shipment of 40 dogs from Oklahoma, marking the return of somewhat normal operations for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’ve got a mix of breeds. We’ve got some puppies, we’ve got some adult dogs,” said Aaron Guggemos, director of strategic projects at the Animal Humane Society. “Generally speaking, the way that transport works in our country is we’ve got certain parts of the country that have a lot of dogs, and those are the places that have shelters that have a harder time managing the amount of dogs we have.”
An Animal Humane Society employee holds a dog fresh off a transport to Golden Valley from Oklahoma.
The dog transport Monday morning was the Animal Humane Society’s first animal transport since the end of March.
Of the 40 dogs in the group, 22 of them were puppies. The breeds included Great Danes, Rottweilers, bulldogs, Jack Russell terriers, Labradors and shepherds.
New Policies and Procedures
The AHS had to suspend its animal transport program due to COVID-19. However, after months of revisiting policies and procedures with shelter partners in the South, they were able to come up with a safe way to handle transport for both people and animals.
People looking to adopt have had relatively slim pickings since adoptions resumed in May. But officials at the AHS are hopeful that the revival of the animal transport program will help reverse that trend.
An Animal Humane Society employee weighs a dog after its arrival from Oklahoma.
“So we’re hoping that this is the beginning of ramping back up to where we used to be, keeping COVID in mind, trying to be safe of how we do all this,” Guggemos said.
Upon arrival, the dogs received wellness checks, behavioral checks, and those that needed it were spayed and neutered. The dogs will be available for adoption at some point in the next few days. Anyone wanting more information should check out the Animal Humane Society website.
