Recently, Griffin Pond Animal Shelter staff began to have difficulty placing phone calls. Some calls reached intended receivers and some could not be placed at all. Following a two-day wait for an assessment and solution to the problem, the phone system began working again—temporarily. 

The phone service quickly deteriorated from shoddy to not working at all. After a more thorough evaluation, engineers stated the shelter needs to not only buy new phones, but also replace all of the phone and computer wiring.

“We were hoping this update would not be necessary at this time since so many of our supporters are just starting to find their financial footing as life begins to become a bit more normal in regards to the pandemic,” explained Ashley L. Wolo, executive director of Griffin Pond Animal Shelter. “But, it’s something we need to do to operate the shelter efficiently. We hope that  businesses or community members can make donations to the shelter to support this urgent endeavor.”

In the meantime, shelter staff members have been voluntarily using their personal cell phones, as well as the shelter’s social media and email accounts, to keep the lines of communication open to the public.

 “We are so blessed to have such committed employees who truly put their hearts into their work and offered to use their own mobile devices to ensure all of our shelter pets continue to receive uninterrupted, continuous care. Once we get our phones working as well as our employees do, we’ll be set,” said Wolo.

Donations can be made online at www.griffinpondanimalshelter.com by clicking on the phone fund graphic. Donations also can be mailed to Griffin Pond Animal Shelter, 967 Griffin Pond Rd., Clarks Summit, PA 18411 ATTN: Phone Fund.

To contact the shelter regarding donations, email fundraising@griffinpondas.com; for adoptions, emailadoptions@griffinpondas.com; for cruelty cases, email Humane.Officer.GPAS@gmail.com. The public also may send a message to the Griffin Pond Animal Shelter Facebook page.