“These furry friends are all good boys and girls — and big-hearted New Yorkers opened their arms and homes to help save their lives Wednesday.
Animal Care Centers of NYC on E. 110th St., the only city-run animal shelter in Manhattan, shut down Wednesday after staffers tested positive for COVID-19 — forcing the entire team to quarantine and triggering a frantic hunt for short-term accommodations for the suddenly homeless and helpless dogs, cats, guinea pigs and other needy critters.
“We are facing an emergency situation,” ACC officials at the shelter near Second Ave. wrote in an email.
‘Our staff responsible for walking the dogs, feeding the animals, cleaning their kennels and more are unable to come to the shelter for the next two weeks.’
‘While we have staff from other departments pitching in to help, we are unable to properly care for the animals with such little human power,’ the agency added, in its plea for emergency fosters.
It took no time at all for New Yorkers to answer the short-term call of the wild from Creed, Bluejay, Sir Snoop, Ella Enchanted and other shelter pets.
Manhattan hospital worker Nancy Leyrer, 60, was among the first, scooping up Gizmo, a male, and Macro, a female — both Bichon poodle mixes — to take to her New Jersey home.
‘These guys are older, they are seniors,’ said Leyrer, who’s a foster volunteer at a rescue organization. ‘They are very sweet.’
‘I’m doing my part and I enjoy it, she told the Daily News while on her way back home late Wednesday. ‘There’s nothing better than to help a dog out and to give another person a chance to love an animal.’
Lindsey Boylan, a candidate for Manhattan Borough President, described the foster effort as ‘critical.’
‘The hope is that they are able to bring all the dogs to (other shelters) but in the event they are not, we need to be able to find homes for them in the interim,’ she said. ‘I would stress this isn’t a permanent thing. These are fostering situations.’”
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