MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis Animal Services (MAS) will be closing its doors for the weekend of Friday, June 9, until Sunday, June 11, due to what they're calling a respiratory illness outbreak amongst the shelter.
MAS said they are currently experiencing a high volume of dogs with mild to severe respiratory signs such as nasal discharge, coughing, and decreased appetite.
In these 3 days, MAS said they are taking steps to “reset” the health of their pet population:
Here's how MAS will alter their services during the closings:
Intake: Emergencies only. Call 901-545-COPS to report a pet that is a threat to public safety or a pet in need of immediate medical care.
Reclaims: If you have lost your pet, please look on our website first to see if your pet is at the shelter. If you don’t see your pet on our website, we encourage you to still check in person at the shelter, and you can still do that from 12-4pm on the three days we will be closed.
Adoptions/Fosters: Memphis Animal Services will be offering digital adoption and foster processing with in-person pickups.
Rescues: MAS will allow email commitments for rescue partners as always.
Pickups: MAS will be open for pickups. If you receive a call that your pet is ready, please come to MAS during the hours requested.
Volunteers: Regular volunteer activities, orientations, and field trips will be canceled. There will be a limited number of non-animal handling activities available for advanced registration for active, oriented volunteers.
MAS said there are many factors that lead to an uptick in illness in shelters, and they been experiencing the two most critical factors for over a year:
- Prolonged length of stay. Pets are staying in their care longer, MAS said, increasing their risk of illness as well as fear, anxiety, and stress
- Operating over capacity for care. MAS says currently they have 298 dogs in their building, and based on their capacity for care, they can only meet the needs of 216 dogs.
Read more about the increased respiratory illness at MAS HERE.
