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Montgomery County Animal Shelter gets creative to increase pet adoptions during COVID-19 pandemic

Leaders are reflecting on how the pandemic changed the way the shelter is run

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Va. – The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everyone’s day-to-day. From personal routines to how a business runs, many are moving at a different pace than before March 2020, including the Montgomery County Animal Shelter.

Leaders said the pandemic impacted operations with the animals because people had to social distance when adopting.

They said volunteers walked the animals while the facility was closed to the public during the height of the pandemic.

Leaders said they had to get creative to make sure animals were able to get adopted during the pandemic.

“We just started using technology for people to see our animals at a distance and get to know them, we use the telephone, we used emails, we used Facebook messenger, just whatever we had to do to make sure our animals were seen and getting heard about,” Eileen Mahan, Director of Montgomery County Animal Services said.