News Briefs

Local animal shelters at capacity

The Shelton Animal Shelter announced March 7 it was at capacity and no longer accepting strays or surrendered pets.

A technician working at the shelter, who did not wish to be identified, said it was unusual to have so many pets at the facility and the shelter doesn’t know when it will be able to accept new animals.

“I’ve never seen it this crowded,” the employee told the Journal.

Adoptable pets from the Shelton facility are available on Petfinder.com.

People who have safety concerns about animals can call 911 or the nonemergency number, according to the shelter.

Callers who want to surrender their pets were first told about neighboring county shelters, but even those are full now, the employee said. The shelter is now advising callers to look for Facebook groups that put people in touch with foster homes for cats and dogs.

Mason County Humane Society is also at capacity for placing pets. MCHS doesn’t have a physical shelter, although the nonprofit group is working on building a facility.

When people call to surrender their animals, the organization tries to place the pets in foster care “if we have opening,” volunteer Avatar Fitch told the Journal. Fitch said Mason County is a large, rural county that has a need for shelter services.

“We are just as full as everybody else,” Fitch said.

Additional hours for clerk’s office

Mason County Clerk Charles Rhodes told commissioners he was “extremely proud” to announce the clerk’s office will remain open during the lunch hour from noon to 1 p.m., starting this week.

The counter is now open business days from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Rhodes said at the March 12 meeting.

Due to staffing shortages, the office has been closed during lunch for the past year. Rhodes said they are “fully staffed” now.

“It will better serve our community and allow our customers to do business during their lunchtime without having to wait for documents any longer than necessary,” he said.