Neither snow, nor slush, nor blizzard nor whiteout would stop staffers at the Prince William County animal shelter from taking care of the critters depending on them.

"We're essential personnel," said shelter manager Douglas Norman last Friday, noting that the animal control bureau is part of the county police department. "So we're required to be here."

Norman described his Feb. 6 commute from his Catlett home as "treacherous" and "probably one of the worst snow storms" he ever drove through. VDOT prioritized plowing for much of the western Prince William roads closest to the animal shelter before taking care of the secondary, back roads of eastern Fauquier County.

"As soon as I hit that county line, that road was plowed," he said. "It's like taking that light switch and turning it on and off."

Upon arrival, "It's like any other day," said Norman, explaining that, "Our first priority is to take care of the animals.

Some of his colleagues had to ask for rides to work; others back home. Animal Control warden Pauline Shatswell mentioned officers in the field responded to house calls in pairs because snow piles took away many parking spots. One would leave the four-wheel drive vehicle and handle the situation while the other would stay at the wheel.

Prince William SPCA vice president Angie Platten said that her organization's volunteers ended up snowed out of the shelter on Feb. 7. The Bristow resident explained that Sundays are when volunteers take pictures of the animals available for adoption so they can upload them online on Web sites like Pet Finder.

Norman and three other staffers used a snowblower to make a path to the birds outside of the facility. A brief tour of the children's educational farm showed goats and sheep "baahing" and rustling along narrow paths cleared around the barn area. Feet of snow reduced what is normally a fenced in field where animals roam to a series of slushy allyways where the goats and sheep could walk away from the dry section near the stalls of the wall-less pavilion.

As for how shelter staffers even accessed the barnyard in the first place, head caretaker Suzette Kapp simply said they shoveled their way in.

"They just have to insure they have water and fresh food," she added.

Shatswell said the biggest challenge the staffers face outside is keeping the water from freezing. Ducks, chickens, potbelly pigs, sheep, goats and even a pony all depend on it.

Indoor strays and adoption-hopefuls are not routinely walked around the property even in good weather because the lack of a fence near the Route 234 corridor creates a liability issue as a run-away cat or dog could get into traffic. That could leave the shelter potentially at risk for a lawsuit from an accident. There are, instead, pens for public viewing that are open during drier and warmer times of the year.

The shelter followed the lead of the county government by closing the Sunday and Wednesday after the snow storms. Animal control brought in 42 total animals during that week, which included injured and dead animals. No statistics were available for how many animals came in strictly to be put up for adoption. The bureau brought back 16 animals last Friday alone, which happened to be one of the better weather days of the last week.

According to Norman, the low volume of animals coming into the shelter allowed staffers to concentrate on extra tasks around the facility like snow removal in the back parking lot. A typical day may involve four to five hours of cleaning kennels and feeding the animals while the last three or so hours include whatever "odd jobs" need to be taken care of that particular day.

He said the number of animals entering the shelter typically rises around March or April. Winter tends to produce fewer stay dogs and cats as well as those ultimately deemed adoptable. Dog kennels for adoptees and strays last weekend only had one to two dogs each. During the summer, that number can be over five, said Shatswell.

"It's easy to take care of them," she added. The biggest difference between the summer adopting season and winter is that the quantity and variety of available animals increases.

Five cats total were up for adoption last week. Stray cats are kept in a quarantined area away from visitors not because they are dangerous, said Shatswell, but because there just isn't anywhere else to put them in the shelter.

"If they want to give us another section for cats, that would be great," said Shatswell with a laugh.