Have you ever stopped by HAWS in the morning and wanted to see the animals, only to find out that the kennel is closed until 1:00 pm? Maybe you've looked through the kennel door and wondered...what is going on back there?
Here's your chance to get an inside view!
On a typical day, 2 kennel caregivers care for up to 200 animals, with help from 2 more workers that come in later in the day and a handful of dedicated volunteers. The 2 morning kennel workers divide their duties - 1 working with the dogs, the other with the cats.
The caretaker responsible for the dog kennel begins at 7:00am by taking all adoptable dogs (sometimes almost 2 dozen!) out to the individual exercise runs. Once all dogs are out, all blankets are picked up from their kennels and thrown into the laundry, dishes and toys are taken to the kitchen to be washed, and any miscellaneous items left behind - such as poop or treats - are scooped up and thrown away.
The entire kennel is then soaked down with a disinfectant and allowed to sit for at least 10 minutes. The kennel is then rinsed with water and soaked again in bleach, to sit for another 10 minutes and then to be rinsed again. A squeegee is used on the entire floor so all puddles are dispersed. The drain in each kennel is emptied out. Finally, each kennel is given a water bowl and the dogs are brought back in.
The same process is repeated in the stray dog holding kennel, the isolation (medical ward) kennel and the overnight drop off kennel. When all the dogs are back in their "houses," each run is then soaked in disinfectant, rinsed, soaked in bleach and rinsed again.
The whole process of cleaning the dog kennels takes about 4.5 hours - sometimes longer depending on other circumstances that arise from day to day. Sick animals need to be medicated, each room of the building is cleaned, supplies and donations need to be put away. Kennel caregivers are also called on to help visitors who come in the morning (surrendering animals, claiming strays), and take care of requested animal pick-ups throughout the county.
Next week: we're still not done - and it isn't even close to 1:00pm yet!
By the way, Meteorologist Rob Haswell from Fox 6 helped out in the HAWS kennel one morning - click on this link to watch his adventure!
