BANGOR, Maine — For months, Mainers have been staying home to help stop the spread of the coronavirus and what better way to spend the time inside than with a furry friend.
The Bangor Humane Society reopened its doors Monday after months of being open by appointment only.
Suzan Prendergast is the Executive Director of the shelter and said the doors had to reopen because some of the cats were having kittens that were outpacing the number of appointments.
She added the shelter has seen a lot more adoptions in the past few months than it has in years past.
“We haven’t seen as many as many surrenders as we have in past years, we haven’t seen as many stray animals as we have in past years, and we’ve also seen more people who want to adopt," Prendergast said.
The animal shelter reopened with some precautions. The first is requiring masks when entering the building and only ten customers are allowed inside at once.
“If you can get a number you can come in. If there are no numbers there, you need to wait," Prendergast said.
The Bangor Humane Society just completed a $2.3 million renovation to the facility. Prendergast referred to it as her "spruce up project". The renovations began last September and Monday was its unofficial grand opening.
With the coronavirus pandemic still ongoing, Predenergast said now is a great time to cherish our pets and think about adopting new ones.
“Our pets are always so important to us, I can’t imagine my life without my dogs Jasmine and Bear, but to be home and quarantined, you can hug them, and you can love on them when you can’t necessarily do that with other people.”
The shelter was open from noon to 6 p.m. Monday and the majority of the dogs and cats were adopted.