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NATCHEZ — Friends come and go all of the time in the life of Kiara Franklin, but that is OK, she said.

The more friends who go away, the more friends she can save.

Franklin said she started her first job at the Natchez-Adams County Humane Society about three years ago and loves the job as much as she loves the many puppies and kittens she works with.

Franklin said she even fosters animals at home, such as the little black puppy called “Tiny” that she had with her when The Dart landed at the shelter on Friday.

“Sometimes I have friends over and they’ll ask me, ‘Where is your dog?’ because they’ll get used to one there and she was adopted,” Franklin said. “I get attached to them easily but then so will another family, too. … Sometimes I’ll pout about if for awhile — two weeks at the most.”

The Humane Society is one of the many businesses throughout the nation to recently close its doors to the public as a defense against further spreading the COVID-19 virus, Franklin said.

“We haven’t been closed for very long,” Franklin said. “We’ll do an appointment if someone knows of a particular dog or cat they are interested in.”

Even though people aren’t welcome to browse around and look at the animals inside the humane society, Franklin said the animals are still there and someone has to come in every day to clean, walk and feed them.

“They have us come in on specific days to take care of them so everyone gets to have their days off,” she said.

Franklin said the shelter is now full of 30 to 50 dogs and puppies and one cat with no new animals being taken in during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ll try to make room if there is an emergency,” she said.

Adoptable animals can still be viewed at nachs.org/adoptable-pets and people can fill out an application to adopt online. Donations can also be made to the Humane Society online via Pay Pal.

For more information call 601-442-4001.