Thanks to a grand from the ASPCA the Humane Society of Southern Wisconsin is currently halfway through replacement of its old kennels. Executive Director Brett Frazier said, “Our kennels looked exactly like a dog pound. Concrete block, bent and broken chain link…they weren’t a match for the organization we’re becoming and they weren’t appropriate for the high level of care we provide the dogs who come to stay with us.”
The project, with a total cost of approximately $97,000, got a huge boost when the ASPCA provided a grant of $50,000 in early 2016. The remainder of the project is paid for by utilizing some of the dollars donated over the years through planned giving and estates when supporters have left money to the shelter in their wills. In each of the shelter’s five kennel rooms the new kennels will reduce kennel stress and the potential for cross contamination and the spread of disease. The stray kennel room has been cleared and new Sani-Kennels from Mason Company have been installed. Two additional kennels have had their kennel fronts replaced with Sani-Kennels as well. Finally, the two kennels used regularly for dogs up for adoption are being fitted with Walk-In Kennels which will more closely resemble a suite at a boarding kennel and will allow the dogs a more comfortable environment during their stay and potential adopters better access to meet the dogs.
Frazier also noted, “It’s no secret that the shelter is looking at a new facility in the near future. We absolutely need it. The need is now, but there are some steps we still have to go through – finding a site, planning, fundraising. It’s probably still at least a few years from the day we walk into a new facility. In that time, however, literally thousands of dogs will come through our program. They deserve better than chain link.” So what about these new kennels once a new facility is in place? “These kennels are something we will be able to take with us, actually”, Frazier said, “the investment the community, the ASPCA and our shelter have made in these kennels will follow us if we’re blessed to be able to move into a new facility at some point.”
The kennel project is just the latest in a string of organizational advances over the past three years. In that time the Rock County based nonprofit organization has made progress on several fronts, but Frazier says it all boils down to one idea. “It’s our mission. What can we do today to advance our mission of helping pets go home again?”
The kennels are expected to be completed by this weekend when the shelter has regular adoption hours on Saturday and Sunday from Noon until 5pm.
