BURLINGTON, Ky. — With happy tail wags and excited barks, nearly a dozen dogs left their outdated home behind and walked to their new shiny digs Monday morning.
Staff with Boone County Animal Control hosted a PAWrade for their current shelter dogs as the community prepares to open its long-awaited new animal shelter. The $8 million project has been 10 years in the making.
"Relief and jubilation that we're going to be in a facility where we can take better care of the animals that come into our care, better serve the community and really serve our taxpayers to the best of our ability," Boone County Administrator Matthew Webster said.
There county currently cares for about 10 dogs and two cats at its current site, but the new building, named The Ron and Sherrie Lou Noel Boone County Animal Shelter and located just half a mile away on Inglewood Road, is designed to house 30 dogs and 30 cats. There is also room for smaller animals like rabbits, hamsters and guinea pigs and the flex space for more dogs and cats if necessary.
The Boone County Fiscal Court invested most of the funds — $5 million — while a capital fundraising campaign provided the rest, Webster said.
"We’ve seen folks give $20, if that’s what they could give, up to a million dollars for naming rights on the facilities. So it’s a really interesting combination of a public-private partnership that has allowed us to do a lot of things in the shelter we probably wouldn’t have done if it was purely a taxpayer-funded municipal shelter," Webster said. "When you see some of the bells and whistles, some of the things that are really attractive or really good service to the animals — a lot of that was made possible by the private funding that came together to build the shelter."
The facility was designed to encourage the community to spend time with the animals and to help promote animal health, wellness and disease prevention. It's a significant upgrade from the current location, which was built in the 1970s — a time when shelters operated like pounds and didn't prioritize care.
"Our old shelter ... it's been renovated several times. It had one ventilation system and it was really created at a time, at a day and an age when we were more dog catchers," Webster said. "We (now) have a 96% live release rate, meaning the only animals that we are euthanizing today are animals that have medical issues or behavior issues where it's been mandated by the court, so that is a major transformation change from where we were back in the 60s and 70s."
Dogs and cats in the new shelter will be housed in their own wings, which Webster said is important when reducing stress for the animals. Adoptable dogs will be housed in kennels that, with the pull of a wishbone-anchored rope, open doors that lead to outdoor pens. Dogs will also have access to an expansive dog play yard to encourage socialization and offer enrichment opportunities.
Cats get their own luxuries. Large cat “condos” have ledges, windows and extra space to reduce the risk of infection, and a central “catio” that provides a safe, screened-in enclosure for cats to enjoy fresh air and sunshine.
"In the old shelter there was no place to put anything," said Laura Johnson, who's been volunteering with the shelter at its current site for 6 years. "So it's wonderful here to have space, to spread out and to really make good use of all the things that we're given."
The new shelter also boasts improved medical services, including exams, treatments and surgeries. There are multiple ventilation systems as well to reduce the risk of cross-contamination in the event of an outbreak.
"This shelter was designed to avoid that. (We have different flooring), the special epoxies, which are disease resistant to make sure again, that we are taking the best care of our animals," Webster said.
While the bulk of the facility has a more clinical, functional design, the front end is specifically designed with a lounge-like feel to be warm and welcoming for community members. It feeds into the main goal: creating a shelter that acts more like a resource center, Webster said.
The Joanie Bernard Foundation, which is based in Cincinnati and specializes in services for cats, contributed $1 million to construct a community spay and neuter clinic, which will be the first of its kind in Northern Kentucky offering low-cost service. Currently, pet owners must go elsewhere in the region or cross the Ohio River into Cincinnati.
It'll be operated by a nonprofit provider and won't cost taxpayers a dime. While it won't be open at the time of the shelter's public launch, the county has identified three potential Cincinnati spay and neuter providers for when it is ready.
“Probably of all the projects that I worked on in 10 years at the county, this is the one where I’m not sure we’ve received one negative [comment],” Webster said.
The new shelter will celebrate its public opening on Saturday, March 16.
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