HHHS continues reduced fees, closes on Wednesdays due to capacity issues

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Helping Hands Humane Society will reduce adoption fees for cats and dogs to $25 until further notice and close on Wednesdays for the next month in order to provide necessary care for animals as it continues to experience capacity issues.

Helping Hands Humane Society says on Monday, Sept. 19, that animal capacity and overcrowding from the summer have continued and staff needs more time to deep clean and provide care for animals. It said staff have done their best to continue to provide the daily care possible to keep up with the pace of intakes, however, in order to keep animal stress down and allow everyone the time deserved, the shelter will need to temporarily close to the public one day a week.

HHHS noted that daily animal care includes cleaning, feeding, photos, communications, medicine checks, surgeries and more.

The shelter said it loves the community and wants to be there, but the staff has to prioritize the pets that have found a temporary home there as they truly just need a little bit more time. Therefore, it said Wednesdays will be shifted to provide them with that extra time. This means that the shelter will be closed to the public every Wednesday for the next four weeks to stabilize capacity and allow staff the flexibility to continue the flow of animals.

The shelter will be closed on the following days:

• Wednesday, Sept. 21
• Wednesday, Sept. 28
• Wednesday, Oct. 5
• Wednesday, Oct. 12

HHHS indicated that it chose Wednesdays because the middle of the week tends to be the slowest time for adoptions so the risk has been calculated of losing a day of potential adoptions in order to provide the animals with the care they deserve. It said the staff was intentional in choosing that day as data shows it is the day with the least public interaction.

If residents do need help from the shelter on those days, HHHS said they should call it at 785-233-7325 and leave a message. While it cannot guarantee a same-day callback or response, it did say staff will make every effort to still be helpful during those times.

HHHS also noted that dog and cat adoption fees will be reduced to $25 until further notice.

For information about how to become a volunteer or foster an animal, click HERE.

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