Road closures are blocking animals from reaching new homes in Oshkosh

OSHKOSH, Wis. (WBAY) - The Humane Society complains that their efforts to adopt animals out to new homes is hitting road blocks - quite literally.

They want interested parties to know that they are still open and many animals are available for adoption, despite road closures around the facility.

“And now we’ve got road construction and nobody can get into the building and all of these poor animals who are here through no fault of their own are just sitting and waiting for someone to come in and love them and take them home,” explained Jessica Miller from the Oshkosh Area Humane Society.

The shelter is on Bowen Street. A portion of the road is closed for construction, causing some people to think access to the animals is cut off.

‘Road construction started earlier in the spring but it was pretty minor at first, and now we are in full-blown destruction, really,” Miller said.

The City of Oshkosh says the contractor is required to maintain access to all commercial businesses throughout the construction period. The project is scheduled to wrap up by July 17, 2023.

“In addition to the road construction, this is the time of year when adoptions are slow because school’s getting out and people are going on vacation,” Miller further explained the dire situation.

The shelter is already beyond capacity. Getting people to adopt is crucial, especially as pets that had been adopted during the pandemic are being returned.

“We can tell by the approximate age of the animal that people are realizing that life has opened up now and the pet doesn’t really fit in for one reason or another,” Miller said.

The majority of the animals brought back are dogs - so the shelter is having to turn some cat rooms into dog spaces to house them.

“When you take an animal into your life, it should be a lifelong commitment, and we are really hoping that people realize that they took this animal on during COVID because they wanted love and companionship and this animal is still here willing and able to provide that for them,” Miller advised.

If a cat or a dog isn’t what you’re looking for right now, the shelter also has smaller animals, like rabbits, mice and guinea pigs.

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