Due to exposure to COVID by a significant portion of medical staff at ACCT Philly, the only open intake animal shelter and animal care and control provider in the city of Philadelphia, the organization has been forced to change its operations for the next week.
The biggest shift will be a temporary halt on non-emergency intakes. Adoptions will continue, though will be limited to animals who are already spayed/neutered as there is no capacity to perform surgeries in house. Same day appointments can be made at the shelter in person starting at 10am. Those interested in adopting should review our adoption procedures here.
Last year the organization suffered a significant cut to its contract with the city of nearly 20 percent or $900,000, which resulted in the elimination of 17 staff positions, making times like this even more challenging.
The organization has reached out to its rescue partners and fosters with the hope of placing as many animals as possible. This will allow the limited staff available to focus on ensuring that animals who are emergencies and must come to ACCT are able to be vaccinated and triaged appropriately..
“We are doing everything we can to try to continue to serve people and pets in the community, and appreciate the public’s support in doing so in a way that is safe for both staff and the public,” said Aurora Velazquez, Executive Director.
For those who want to help but cannot adopt, ACCT Philly is hoping many people will sign up to foster a pet, or consider making a contribution to help the organization be better positioned to pay for unexpected costs during this time.
