PEI Humane Society closed this weekend to give animals, staff a break from the heat

The PEI Humane Society has shut its doors to the publicfor the weekend, to give staff and animals a breakfollowing weeks of soaring temperatures.

Usually the Charlottetown shelter is open six days a week but staff decided to closeSaturday.

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Jennifer Harkness,development manager for the shelter, says caring for animals during hot weather this summer has been a challenge and the decision to close is to give both animals and staff a bit of a rest.

"Of course we want people coming into the shelter because we want to see more animals get adopted," she said.

"But itdoes come with increased traffic, increased attention to the animals ... it's a lot of activity."

Shelter will open again Monday

The heat wavehas caused the shelter to make adjustments to animal careincluding shorter walks and less time outdoors for the animals on the hotter days, Harknesssaid.

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The weekend closure gives volunteers some relief as well, she said.

"It's just to give everybody a little rest time, a mental health break if you would, for both the four-legged and two-legged," Harknesssaid.

The shelter will open again to the public Monday.

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