STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK
PHOTO BY HEIDI HAYES
The staff at Mountain Humane has their hands full with their four-legged population surging past a hundred puppies and kittens in need of forever homes.
The no-kill shelter west of Hailey has taken in three dozen puppies and dogs rescued from animal hoarding or animal cruelty cases throughout southern Idaho. And the kittens? Well, you can blame that on COVID.
As of Thursday, the shelter had 113 four-legged residents with the expectation of receiving more. The distribution between cats and dogs is split evenly.
“We are bursting with tiny floofs!” said Heidi Hayes, marketing manager for Mountain Humane.
The surge in kitties can be attributed in large part to the inability of the staff to get out and trap feral or outdoor cats and neuter them during the coronavirus pandemic. Mountain Humane had to close its clinic to save essential medical supplies for hospitals at the height of the pandemic.
“It’s kitten season at Mountain Humane and it’s probably the worst we’ve seen it in 10 years. We’re taking in two to four kittens every day, with people finding them on the side of the road or under their decks and bringing them to us. I attribute it to missing one year of trapping and neutering due to COVID,” said Kelly Mitchell, senior director of shelter operations for Mountain Humane.
The new dogs and puppies came from a variety of rescue operations.
Mountain Humane took in nine puppies from more than 20 animals that were dumped at a southern Idaho dairy. They received eight puppies from an animal cruelty case in Blackfoot and two dogs from an animal cruelty case in Burley. The shelter took six dogs—a Mom and her five 2-week-old puppies—from more than 30 animals rescued in a hoarding case in Idaho Falls.
“We’ve received more than 35 animals from these cases in the past 12 days, in addition to the surrenders and animals we take in from other shelters that need help. And they’re still coming. They’re still accessing some of the animals they took in the Idaho Falls hoarding case so I assume we will see more from them,” said Mitchell.”
Some of the puppies are so young it’s difficult to tell what kind of dog they will turn out to be, said Mitchell.
“Some look like they have some Shar-pei in them. Some look like border collie puppies. Some, a lab-shepherd mix. It goes without saying they are adorable. Different sizes, different breed mixes but very cute,” she added.
Upon arrival, the new puppies and kittens are taken to the medical clinic where they’re vaccinated, dewormed, microchipped and given a medical assessment. Puppies who come in with a nursing Mom may be taken to a foster family until they’re weaned. Puppies who arrive without their mother are taken to a foster family that will bottle feed them as long as needed.
The young’uns are given socialization activities, including independent play time and play time with siblings, if they have them. Once they reach 10 to 12 weeks, they’re spayed or neutered, given the rest of their vaccinations and allowed to be put up for adoption.
“They really get around-the-clock care. Between our staff and volunteers, it’s quite an endeavor every day,” said Mitchell.
Mountain Humane will put pre-adoption posts on Instagram and Facebook and its website at https://mountainhumane.org as the new guys join Lana Del Whisker, Texas, Whisky, Lady McDeath waiting to be adopted.
Those who are interested in adopting one of the new admissions can get on a waitlist or wish list and will receive a call as their wish comes up for adoption.
“Idaho does not have a lot of no kill shelters in the state like us so we’re asked to take a lot of animals from high-risk situations around the state,” said Mitchell. “We have scads of animals coming in from shelters around the state that need us. We just feel so fortunate to have a clinic that other shelters dream of.”
COMING UP...
Mountain Humane will present celebrity dog trainer and host of CBS' "Lucky Dog Show" Brandon McMillan on Aug. 29 at the Argyros Performing Arts Center in Ketchum. Tickets start at $35.