Weber County Animal Services welcomes new director who hopes to improve the shelter

WEBER COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — After a series of deadly parvo outbreaks and months of being understaffed, Weber County Animal Services has a new director who is looking to make some changes. Siri Main hopes to increase community engagement, create new animal enrichment programs, and revamp the shelter’s policies to prevent disease outbreaks.

“Hi, big guy,” Siri Main said through a laugh as she started to pet a shelter dog named Catfish. He is one of many animals currently up for adoption. “Catfish may not be available for long though,” she quipped. “Catfish may be coming home with me.”

“Oh, my goodness, I would love to be empty,” Main told ABC4. “I think any director is going to tell you that we’re always operating at 100 percent capacity, and it’s true. We are.”

She stepped into the role last month. “Our future,” Main replied when asked what she is most excited about. “It’s looking better. It’s looking brighter. We’re so excited. We’re hoping to end this year on a much higher note than we began it.”

To be able to end on a high note, Main hopes to improve animal enrichment activities and programs. One example is the creation of the Doggy Daycation program.

“Doggy Daycation is when an individual comes and fills out a onetime application,” Main explained. “They pick up a dog and you’re able to go hike, go to Starbucks and get a pup cup, you’re able to go to the park. All we ask is a little bit of information about how your day went. That gives us and our staff a little bit more information that we can then pass along to potential adopters.” She would like to expand this program to the shelter’s cats as well.

Speaking of cats, another one of her ideas is to build an outdoor “catio.” 

Boosting community engagement is another goal. This may be done through public activities, like the one the shelter is hosting on July 19, and new programs. “We’re hoping to educate the public and roll out programs in terms of helping individuals stay with their animals, so those animals never see the inside of a shelter,” added Main.  

As part of boosting community engagement, Main is also looking to increase the number of fosters they have. “The more fosters we have, the more animals we can care for,” she said.

Main is actively hiring staff. She told ABC4 that all full-time positions are now filled, and she has three more part-time positions to fill. “It is my intention and expectation to be fully staffed by the end of July.”  

Main is aslo tweaking the shelter’s current policies to prevent disease outbreaks.  “We’re doing everything from small to big,” she explained. “We’re changing what the staff cleaning schedule is like and their cleaning procedures.” She added: “We see where we were wrong. We see where we were weak and we’re working with our national partners, with ourselves, and our internal team to build up those procedures and better them.” 

All this, she told ABC4, is just the beginning of the changes she plans to implement.

Regarding an upcoming event next Saturday, Weber County released the following statement:  

To become more involved in the community, WCAS has partnered with local businesses to hold family-friendly adoption events. The next event, “Dog Days of Summer,” in partnership with the Friends of the Weber County Animal Services, will be held on July 19 from 12 p.m.–4 p.m. at 1373 N. 750 W., Ogden. The event will have adoptions, yard games, hotdogs, pup cups and a silent auction. The funds raised will go toward a new animal enrichment program.