Animal Allies Humane Society's mission is to ensure a lifetime of loving care for every pet in our area. That mission is expressed in every detail of the new Animal Allies Humane Society Muriel Whiteside Animal Shelter on Rice Lake Road. Here are some of the ways the new shelter will improve the quality of life enjoyed by animals while they are living in the new shelter.
- Refuge for a greater number of homeless pets
Animal Allies currently uses a portion of the city of Duluth's shelter that includes 18 dog kennels and 36 cat cages. The new shelter is designed to house 40 dogs and 56 cats, nearly doubling our current capacity and giving us critical leeway when the annual summer flood of homeless pets hits.
- Better living conditions for homeless pets
Like people, animals suffer when confined in small spaces and subjected to high levels of stress. Animals in the new shelter will enjoy more space and peace than they do in the Animal Allies adoption program today. The size of the average cat kennel will increase by 21 percent; the average dog kennel by 75 percent. Every kennel in the new shelter will be bathed in natural light and the soothing sounds of classical music. And, due to some clever shelter design, the kennels will not be subjected to the stressful din of barking and growling dogs.
- More fun and exercise for homeless pets
If you know animals, you know they love to run and play! Four cat community rooms in the new shelter will enable cats to live, cuddle and play with other cats rather than living in relative isolation and inactivity. Jumbo dog kennels and puppy pens will enable dogs from the same home or litter to continue living together, easing the sometimes abrupt transition from home to the shelter. Outside the new shelter, staff and volunteers will take out dogs to run and play to their hearts' delight in two fenced off-leash areas and nearly a half-mile of safe and peaceful walking trails.
- Less sickness for homeless pets
As we all know, being sick is simply miserable. Happily, sickness will be much less common in the new shelter. State-of-the-art anti-microbial surfaces, high-pressure hot-water cleaning systems and a disease reduction ventilation system, in combination with the hard work and devotion of our staff and volunteers, will keep animals healthy and happy.
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- Quicker adoptions means shorter stays
Even the very best shelter is inferior to a permanent loving home. That's why the new shelter is designed to match animals with adopters as quickly as possible. The high traffic location and the appealing building and grounds will maximize the number of people looking to adopt. Large windows and elevated kennels will keep pets highly visible to potential adopters. Off-leash areas, walking trails and homey "get acquainted" rooms will enable people to really get to know a particular animal.
Coming soon
Our goal is to move the pets in the Animal Allies adoption program into their new home in the first half of March and open soon thereafter. We can't wait to see you there!
Writer Jim Filby Williams is executive director of Animal Allies Humane Society, a Duluth-based non-profit organization that works to ensure a lifetime of loving care for every pet by reducing overpopulation, increasing adoptions and fostering humane values. For more, call 722-1269 or go online to www.animalallies.net .
