One edition of The Chronicle in August 2021 showed a front page photo of a stray kitten standing in a food bowl on a back porch in Chehalis.
The gray kitten was named Jax after being adopted by a staff member at the paper. But others of Jax’s generation haven’t had such an opportunity. His birth came during the pet equivalent of the baby boom.
The kitten’s photo was published with the headline “Lewis County Animal Shelter Inundated With Cats, Kittens.” According to Meja Handlen, director of Lewis County Public Health & Social Services, the story is no different in late 2022. She said the shelter has been at capacity for months.
People got new pets when isolating at home during the pandemic. Then, access to neuter and spay services was reduced. Now, those pets are grown up and many are roaming the streets, Handlen told the Lewis County commissioners on Tuesday.
The county has agreements with various cities to take in animals discovered by law enforcement or code enforcement officers. But Handlen said most of those contracts were shored up in 1998 and expired in 2005. Since then, the county has just been operating on oral agreements with cities and towns.
“We have been trying to work with what best fits the mission of our animal shelter,” she said. “Which is for communities and municipalities to have a safe place for animals to go that will then be adopted out.”
The shelter, which is located on Centralia-Alpha Road in Chehalis but is scheduled to be moved into a location on Kresky Avenue within the coming year or so, only has 16 kennels for dogs, Handlen said. Plus, when new animals come in, they must be held for 72 hours before being adopted out in order to allow the original owners time to claim them.
According to a Wednesday morning report from the shelter manager, Joe Henderson, the shelter has no set capacity for cats because dividers can be used to increase or decrease the total number of cat kennels. All totaled, the rooms for cats could potentially hold 43 spots, which are divided into isolation, quarantine, maternity and general cat rooms.
“We currently have two empty kennels but they are assigned to a couple cats in isolation getting treated for fleas (from) when they arrived. After 72 hours, they will be moved in the cat room and put up for adoption,” Henderson said, adding later, “We are fluid in the capacity of cats and adjust daily to meet the needs of the public.”
Currently, Handlen is working with the different municipalities to solidify contracts, she said on Tuesday. She also reported that the City of Napavine is considering building its own shelter.
“Adopt, adopt, adopt,” Handlen said in closing. “And get a fence and take care of your animals.”
The Lewis County Animal Shelter has a Facebook page where photos of incoming animals are posted in order to help reconnect pets with owners and inspire adoption. It is titled “Lewis County Animal Shelter/Official site for the shelter in Chehalis, WA.”
