Courtesy photo Vicki LeGault, a staff member at the Delta Animal Shelter, cares for “Crush,” a stray cat brought to the shelter by police.

ESCANABA — The coronavirus pandemic has affected everyone in Delta County — including the county’s non-human residents. Delta Animal Shelter Director Susan Gartland spoke about steps the shelter has taken to deal with COVID-19 and ways that people in the area can help.

According to Gartland, the shelter is currently closed to everyone except people involved with essential animal care and essential animal services.

“We are still here at 8:00 in the morning every day to do essential animal care,” she said.

This includes giving animals food, water and medication, cleaning them and exercising them. Volunteers not involved with this work are not coming to the shelter at this time, and the shelter has not had more volunteers present than are necessary.

“It’s limited to one person per animal room,” Gartland said.

During the pandemic, Gartland said the shelter has continued to be the place where local law enforcement officials bring stray animals.

“Police have 24-hour access to our building,” she said.

People are advised to call Delta County Central Dispatch at 906-786-5911 if they find a stray animal.

Delta Animal Shelter is also continuing to work on reuniting lost pets with their owners and providing food assistance to pet owners who need it.

“If anybody does need assistance … just leave us a message and we will make arrangements,” she said.

Adoption services are currently suspended at Delta Animal Shelter. However, area residents have recently been caring for animals from the shelter in another way.

“In the past seven days, we’ve moved 30 animals into foster homes,” Gartland said.

This program is intended to move animals out of the shelter during the pandemic so it can cut down on the need for volunteers and make space for incoming animals. It is set to continue for at least the next month, if not longer.

“We’re very thankful that people are opening their hearts and homes to these homeless animals that need somewhere safe to be,” Gartland said.

If they are interested in providing foster care for animals at the Delta Animal Shelter, people can leave a message by calling the shelter at 906-789-0230.

A number of shelter-related programs, meetings and fundraisers had to be canceled and postponed due to the impact of coronavirus. As Delta Animal Shelter relies entirely on donations and fundraisers, Gartland said these changes are likely to have a negative impact on the shelter.

“We’re going to need a continuous supply of donations to care for the animals that still need help,” she said.

Donations to the shelter can take the form of financial donations or supplies, including dry and canned dog and cat food and cleaning supplies. A drop-off box is available for supply donations, and monetary donations can be made by visiting deltaanimal.org online or finding “Delta Animal Shelter” on Facebook.