By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
After being closed to visitors since March 24, the Humane Society of the High Plains has reopened to the public and has big upgrades planned for the summer.
"We were doing appointments for a couple of months, in the beginning, we weren't allowing any visitors, and then by appointment, but now we are fully open our regular hours," Betty Hansen, manager of the Virginia Miller Animal Shelter.
The shelter's regular hours are Tuesday through Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Since reopening, the shelter has been busy, leaving only one dog currently up for adoption.
"We have had a lot of people visit now that we are open," Hansen said. "We've had some great adoptions in this past seven to 10 days."
With the adoptions, the shelter has space for dogs, but remain full for cats.
"If you are needing to place a dog this is probably the best time to do it," Hansen said.
They have a waiting list to surrender cats and kittens, even though they have had some adoptions.
Visitors to the shelter will not see any special precautions inside the shelter, but she said they are conscious of how many people are in the building and disinfecting the facility regularly.
"They have been coming in small groups, so it's all been working out pretty well," Hasen said.
While the society settles back into the normal routine, it is also preparing for big changes on the grounds.
"We are going to put in a full play yard in the back for the dogs," Hansen said. "We have always had trouble since this building was built keeping grass in the back because the dogs are always on it."
They researched options for the grass and decided a turf-like artificial grass designed for dogs would work best.
"That will be covering the whole back yard," Hansen said. "It's very easy to clean and should last a long time."
They will also construct a large shade structure, some baby pools and large dog playset.
"It's something to maybe give them a little more exercise and something to do when they are out in the yard," Hansen said.
Construction is set to begin after the Fourth of July holiday.
"We are really looking forward to that," Hansen said.