Gwinnett Animal Shelter reopens to public, offers free adoptions

Thomas Roland looks for a dog to adopt at Gwinnett County Animal Welfare and Enforcement in Lawrenceville on Wednesday, May 16, 2018. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

Thomas Roland looks for a dog to adopt at Gwinnett County Animal Welfare and Enforcement in Lawrenceville on Wednesday, May 16, 2018. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

After adjusting its operations for months because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Gwinnett County Animal Shelter is back open to the public and offering free adoptions.

The shelter halted adoptions for two months before transitioning to a mostly online process in May. Now, the shelter is open again for walk-in guests looking for a new pet.

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The shelter is still taking precautions to prevent the spread of coronavirus, including limiting the amount of people in the building at once in order to follow social distancing guidelines. The maximum occupancy is 25 people, including staff, according to the county website. Gloves will be available at no cost to visitors, and wearing masks is encouraged, the shelter said in a Facebook post.

Potential adopters are encouraged to complete an application before they arrive in order to speed up the process, but they don’t have to have a particular animal in mind yet, according to the county website. The shelter is not currently putting any holds on pets, meaning you cannot guarantee an animal will not be adopted by someone else if you leave without it. About 90 dogs, cats and kittens were available at the shelter as of 1 p.m. Monday, according to the shelter website.

All animals receive a veterinary evaluation before going home, and they’re microchipped, vaccinated and spayed or neutered. The shelter is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. It is located at 884 Winder Highway in Lawrenceville.