Animals finding permanent homes as Longmont Humane Society slowly reopens

The day before the Longmont Humane Society re-opened on Saturday, there were a suspicious number of animals already on hold for adoption. The animals weren't being seen by the public. The majority were not even in the building. They were staying in approved foster homes after the shelter closed to the public in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The key to solving this mystery may have something to do with one of the shelter's worst kept secrets. In normal times, the regular volunteers, the ones who walk dogs, play with cats and cuddle furry friends, have been known to bring their work home with them. For good.

According to Carrie Blackenridge, who does communications for the shelter, a similar story is behind the green banners that say "I'm on hold" across the portraits of adoptable animals on the LHS website. "Of those on hold, a great many of them have been placed on hold by their foster families," Brackenridge said, "a really wonderful outcome of all this."

The foster program has been a silver lining during a chaotic time for the shelter. The animals in foster care got extra socialization in a more natural environment, said Brackenridge. "They were spending the time in homes and enjoying everything that comes along with that. We're so grateful. We try our hardest to provide a really great quality of life for the animals [in the shelter] but it's still an artificial environment, so it's difficult, really impossible to replicate a home setting. Their stress level, one would assume, goes down and benefits them healthwise and likely behaviorally," she said.

Stacey McBride was already a foster volunteer before the closure. She got two puppies in March. She said one of the benefits of fostering is that it helps animals be successful once they've been adopted into a new home, preventing them from being returned. "We expose them to as many things as we can - cats, grandkids, other dogs."

She also spends time training and doing the normal necessary duties. "It is a lot of work. I have picked up a lot of dog poop." She's had several pups in her home over more than a year of fostering. One she kept and two went to family members. The rest went on to find their forever homes. "It's bittersweet when it's time for them to go," she said.

As many as 128 animals have been in foster care during the humane society's closure. The shelter sent up to two-thirds of their animals to local homes so it could reduce the amount of people in the building who needed to care for the animals.

Some of the fosters have accidentally found their forever home in the process. Others will stay in foster care for now while some may return to the shelter at some point depending on new protocols for human social distancing, which will be implemented, evaluated and tweaked as needed. The shelter still plans to minimize the number of humans on site, Brackenridge said, which means fewer animals in the building than they had before the closure. For now, that means only staff. On-site volunteers are not coming back yet.

On May 9, LHS started allowing adoption by appointment only. Those interested in adoption start by looking at animal profiles on the website. The next step is calling the shelter to speak with a staff member about the animal. If the person is still interested, a private visit will be arranged. The shelter has installed plexiglass barriers at the public desks, and is sanitizing and taking other precautions to keep staff and the public safe during the adoption process.

Brackenridge said there have been more inquiries in the past week as people look forward to bringing a special pet into their lives. "People are excited about the opportunity," she said, but noted that reopening will take time. "It will be a very measured and slow return. We're doing our services in a different way for the foreseeable future. We're going to take some time to figure out how to do this safely," she said.

Services and programs other than adoption, like the Well Pet Clinic, are operating on a limited basis. Training classes are still canceled. And the organization's thrift store will be permanently closed, a difficult but necessary decision according to the LHS website. "It is with a heavy heart that we must inform you that the LHS Thrift Store will not be reopening after our COVID-19 closure. This pandemic has negatively affected many businesses, including our own. It will be missed by all of us."

The organization has taken a big financial hit during the shutdown, according to Brackenridge. It had to cancel its big spring fundraiser, Homeward Bound, and other revenue streams due to the pandemic. The shelter was able to get a loan through the federal Payroll Protection Program, allowing it to keep staff and fund critical needs. But that only lasts a couple of months.

An online auction is planned for June 4 - 7 to help with the ongoing need for funding. It will feature items that had been donated and were ready to go when Homeward Bound was canceled. "We felt like we wanted to work hard and be up and available for people to participate online. It's been a lot of work. But it's exciting," said Brackenridge who added that any financial donations would be appreciated. "If they can, and feel comfortable doing it, their support right now means a lot to us."

That support will mean that more animals will find their forever home, even if it takes a while. The shelter has a saying whenever a pet is adopted, Fluffy or Spot is "going home." Those happy words are being said again, a welcome phrase for the animals in need and the people who need them too.