By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
There was no band. There was no fanfare, no children eagerly awaiting candy to be thrown from floats, no banners, or balloons, no holiday festivities. But there were eight excited pooches who were chosen to take a walk in the warm sunshine to what they will realize is their new digs.
Monday morning Boone County Animal Shelter staff picked out eight adoptable dogs, eager to take a walk, any walk, and proceeded to escort them from the old Animal shelter building at 5643 Idlewild Road to the brand new Animal Shelter building at 5620 Idlewild Road.
“We chose the dogs that we knew would like the walk,” said Shelter Director Colleen Bray. “We have a few left at the shelter, and we will probably give them a ride over. All the dogs have different personalities, and the ones who were more shy, or ones that would be more scared being around a lot of people were left at the old shelter to have less excitement. We don’t like to stress them.”
This new shelter building is another jewel in the crown that is Boone County. The old shelter building was 8,000 square feet on just under 2 acres to 16,000 square feet on 10 acres.
The new building was designed by SMP Design, who looked at what other Animal Care facilities required and paid strict attention to designing a high functioning building that caters to every need the animals might require.
“This is a community building, too, and we want people to come and visit us, so they can see the dogs and cats, and they know where to come if they want to add to add a furry member to their family,” said Bray.
There is room for 30 dogs and 28 cats, but Bray said they are flexible and can accommodate more or less as the need occurs. There are puppy cages, built off the floor a little to keep them safe from any germs. There is a whole new ventilation system.
The big dog cages have room for the canines to move around, and guillotine doors so that staff members can pull a cord and let the dogs out onto a very small patio. Out the back door and across the driveway is a huge field which is being readied for pups to play and run, kind of like recess at school. The entire compound is fenced so even if a dog might escape from a volunteer or staff member, they can’t get lost or get free.
There is a separation between the dogs and cats, and the cats and small animals, like hamsters, or guinea pigs, which have occasionally found their way to the shelter. That also lessens the stress, because the dogs will always bark, and that barking is loud and echoes off the walls.
“They even have a sally port, where they bring in animals that might not be able to come through the front doors,” said Judge Executive Gary Moore, who, along with County Administrator Matthew Webster and Assistant County Administrator Matt Dowling were at the new building to welcome guests. “They have a bath to wash the dogs before they even get into the main part of the building. All the staff are trained to recognize if the animals might have a problem and how to head it off before it could become a big problem. The staff have worked very hard to get this building up and running.”
The plan for a new Animal Care and Control building was in discussion several years ago, but then the pandemic hit, and while it didn’t shut the plans down, it slowed the progress a bit. That made the original $6 million price tag edge up to well over $8 million, and Moore speculated that the new building is now probably worth $10 to $11 million at this point.
As soon as the county put out a call for contributions to build the shelter, Ron and Sherrie Lou Noll stepped up with $1 million, with a private/public partnership, and the shelter is named for them, as well as one of the dog rooms.
The Joanie Bernard foundation provided money for the cat room and received naming rights.
“There are a few more rooms that haven’t been named,” said Bray. “We will continue our fundraising efforts.”
Judge Moore said that the shelter is paid off, and he is proud that it is state of the art. They had to move the dog park, and it is now located right across the street from Little Britain stables.
“It is just down the street,” said CAO Matthew Webster. “We bought England Idlewild, and when we bought that we bought an additional 50 or 60 acres on the other side, so the dog park is scheduled to open in April.”
He pointed out that one side of the new building is for all the intake, new animals to the shelter that they have to be evaluated, and the other side is the adoptable side, where animals are kept until they are adopted.
There is a medical area, where neutering and spaying is done, as well as any necessary surgery. There are five veterinarians who come to the shelter to help with surgeries. At some point in the future they hope to have a vet on staff, but not at this time.
To prepare for the move, the shelter limited the intake of animals to only the emergency cases, and then they advertised no fee adoptions for a couple of weekends, and they were able to winnow the amount of animals down to two cats, and about a dozen dogs.
Since the shelter is so close to the jail, Judge Moore said they have been exploring the option of programs that involve shelter dogs and inmates.
“There have been some examples around the country where the therapy for both an inmate and the animal can be a good opportunity,” Judge Moore said. “That’s to be decided in the future.”
The old building will be demolished and an entirely new building that will be headquarters for the Parks Department will take its place.
The future looks bright for the new Animal Care and Control which has a tentative grand opening date of March 16.
