Office of Environmental Quiet & Wildlife Monitoring

Pre-Registration Requirements

All residents intending to shelter animals during Quiet Night must contact Director Deirdre Harker to confirm placement on the intake list. Registration must be completed no later than July 3rd at 4:00 PM. Registrations received after the deadline will be reviewed at the Director's discretion, which historically has not been favorable.

When registering, residents must provide the following information for each animal:

• Full legal name of the animal
• Species, breed, and approximate weight
• Color and distinguishing markings (written description only; photographs will not be accepted)
• Known sensitivities to percussive sound, including severity rating on a scale of 1 to 5
• Whether the animal has attended a prior Quiet Night (and if so, which year or years)
• Name of the responsible resident and proof of Village residency

Registrations submitted with incomplete information will be returned. The Office does not follow up on incomplete forms.

Intake Procedure

Residents must arrive with their registered animals during their assigned intake window. Windows are allocated in six-minute intervals beginning at 8:15 PM and are assigned based on the order of registration, adjusted by species and temperament grouping.

Upon arrival, each animal will be checked against the intake list by Office personnel. Residents must present:

• A printed copy of their registration confirmation
• A valid CivicKey card or a government-issued photo ID with a Proctor County address
• The animal, in a carrier or on a leash appropriate to its species

Animals arriving outside their assigned window will be placed at the end of the queue. Animals arriving without a carrier or leash will not be admitted. The Office does not supply carriers. Residents who have misplaced their registration confirmation may request a verbal verification from Director Harker, who will confirm or deny enrollment at her discretion and pace.

Facility Zones & Placement

The shelter has been divided into the following zones for the duration of Quiet Night:

Zone assignments are made by the Office and are final. Requests to relocate an animal between zones will not be entertained.

Barn cats must not be registered in Zone C. The Office learned this the hard way in 2022 and the policy is now strictly enforced. Cats whose indoor status is disputed will be evaluated on-site by Director Harker using criteria she has declined to publish.

Zone G is available by arrangement only. Livestock owners must confirm that their animals can be transported to the shelter without use of a trailer exceeding the Hopewell Street turning radius. The Office will not be held responsible for traffic obstructions caused by non-compliant livestock transport.

Zone H is reserved for animals that do not fall into any established category. Approval requires a separate written justification submitted at the time of registration. Director Harker reviews Zone H applications personally, and approvals have historically been rare. Past Zone H residents have included one tortoise (approved), two parakeets (approved with conditions), and a pygmy goat that should have been registered in Zone G (denied, then reclassified).

Noise Mitigation Measures

The shelter will implement the following sound-reduction protocols beginning at 8:00 PM:

• All exterior windows and ventilation ports sealed with acoustic dampening panels
• White noise generators deployed at a ratio of one unit per three animals
• Overhead lighting reduced to 40% standard output
• Classical music broadcast at low volume in Zones A through C (Beethoven has been removed from the playlist following the 2024 incident)
• Zone D will receive no music, per established small-animal protocol
• Zone E will receive a continuous low-frequency hum selected by the Director after consultation with a poultry behaviorist
• Zones F and G are exterior-adjacent and will receive double-layer acoustic paneling
• Staff will communicate exclusively in writing after 9:00 PM

Prohibited Items

The following items may not be brought into the shelter during Quiet Night:

• Sparklers, poppers, snaps, or any device capable of producing a percussive report
• Laser pointers (incident report 2023-QN-07 remains on file)
• Outside food or treats not pre-approved by the Office
• Battery-operated toys that produce sound
• Personal white noise machines (interference with Office-issued units)
• Blankets or bedding exceeding 30" x 30" per animal
• Cameras or recording devices (the animals' privacy will be respected)

Pickup

Animals must be collected between 6:00 AM and 8:00 AM on July 5th. Pickup will follow the same order as intake. Residents who fail to collect their animal by 8:00 AM will be contacted once by phone. Animals not collected by 10:00 AM will be reclassified as temporary wards of the Office and assessed an overnight boarding fee of $4.00 per animal per hour, billed through the Village Clerk.

Director Harker will provide a brief written behavioral summary for each animal upon pickup, noting any events of interest that occurred during the overnight period. These summaries are considered official municipal documents.

Contact

To register or with questions regarding Quiet Night, contact:

Deirdre Harker, Director
Office of Environmental Quiet & Wildlife Monitoring
Corner of Hopewell St and N. Gallia St
Hobart, OH 45678

Phone: (740) 555-0187
Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Director Harker does not accept Quiet Night registrations by voicemail. Calls placed after 4:00 PM will not be returned until the following business day, regardless of proximity to the holiday.