Three months after the original coronavirus shutdown order, Sammie’s Friends has reopened to the public, with its regular hours, although with restrictions. Shelter director Liz Taylor says they’ve finally reached a point where they feel comfortable with volunteer staffing again…

Also, only one member of the public can enter at a time, with a signup sheet at the door. Masks are required. Taylor says during the shutdown further development of the foster care system, by appointment only, was key to slowing the pace of the number of animals they wanted to accept at one time while they were closed…

Taylor says Sammie’s Friends now has between 10 and 15 dogs. Before the shutdown, they usually had as many as 30 out of 33 kennels occupied at one time. They still have many adult cats that need homes and over 100 kittens that are in foster care.