As many stores and businesses are reopening from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Moose Jaw Humane Society will be keeping at least one of its new policies. 

During the pandemic, the pets at the animal shelter could be viewed by appointment only and that policy is going to remain in place. 

Executive director for the Moose Jaw Humane Society, Dana Haukaas, explained why they made that decision. 

“That's something that we learned during COVID is the pets are so much calmer without having all the traffic going back,” she said. 

Haukaas said, if you are considering adopting a pet, your first step is to fill out an application form that can be found on their website. She added that more than one pet’s name can be put on the application form. 

An appointment will then be set up to meet the pet, but the general public will no longer be allowed at the back of the shelter with the pets. 

“We will still have volunteers and adopters go back to see the pets, or we can bring the pets up to meet the people, but the general public is not going to be going back anymore,” Haukaas said. 

And it isn’t necessarily cats and dogs that you will find at the shelter these days. Recently, the Moose Jaw Humane Society had a pair of birds up for adoption and Haukaas says they’ve had ferrets, guinea pigs, and even hermit crabs in the past. 

The Humane Society’s Four Paws Lottery is also winding down. The final draw for $500 is Friday and the draw for the grand prize of $10,000 is July 31. 

As of Wednesday, there were still one for $20 and three for $50 tickets left, but they are sold out of five for $75 tickets. 

More information about how to adopt a pet or how to purchase Four Paws Lottery tickets can be found on the Moose Jaw Humane Society’s website.