New No Kill Shelter

deehome

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jul 10, 2001
Messages
90
Purraise
0
Location
Eastern Washington State
Has anyone seen this. Isn't it wonderful?



$7 million palace to pamper potential pets

Monday, September 30, 2002 Posted: 1:21 PM EDT (1721 GMT)

FACT BOX

Pet perks:
*\tSoundproofed and furnished dog and cat visiting rooms
*\tA sophisticated air control system that flushes odors and airborne bacteria out of each room every six minutes
*\tFur blow-dryers
*\tDigitally altered music that removes ultrahigh and low notes

RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) -- Spacious living accommodations with modern European-style furnishings. Classical music piped into every room. A spa area with professional groomers.

Richmond's latest $7 million facility would be a wonderful destination for any stressed-out office-worker. But it's not for them: It's for man's furry friends.

The new shelter for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is set to open October 19, offering fur blow-dryers and music digitally altered to remove the ultrahigh and low notes that are so stressful to canine ears.

"We're removing the barriers that have traditionally kept people from coming in -- that animal shelters are smelly, sad and noisy," said Robin Robertson Starr, the society's executive director. "The point was to create a place that people find positive and upbeat, a place where people want to come and spend time with the animals."

And adopt. Two years ago, the Richmond area had one of the highest rates of homeless dogs and cats in the country -- more than 18,000 animals were in the city's animal control system. Around half were destroyed. San Francisco, a city four times the size of Richmond, has about 6,000 animals in its pounds.

"Nothing was being done about it for years and years," said Denise Deisler, chief operating officer of the Richmond SPCA. "There was just no focused effort at all."

Deisler expects the center to make an immediate impact.

The shelter can house up to 150 dogs and 150 cats at a time, increasing current capacity by 50 percent. Deisler estimates that anywhere from 6,000 to 8,000 animals will be adopted out of the new center each year, up from the current 3,500.

The goal is to completely eradicate the homeless pet population within the next six years, she said.

Attracting visitors

According to Starr, the idea behind the shelter is two-pronged. First, the plush, cheerful surroundings act as gift wrapping, making the animals more attractive to visitors and hopefully more adoptable. It also serves to acclimate the animals to living in a home.

Then there's the strict attention paid to keep the animals healthy.
A sophisticated air control system flushes odors and airborne bacteria out of each room every six minutes. The furnished dog and cat visiting rooms are soundproofed to reduce noise, and natural light pours in through skylights.

There's a spay-and-neuter operating room with gleaming metal tables and up-to-date equipment. On the second floor of the 64,000-square-foot old tobacco warehouse is a giant indoor track for dog walking, along with a private pooch potty area.

Richmond's adoption palace was modeled after San Francisco's, which is generally credited with pioneering the livable adoption idea. When San Francisco opened its $7 million SPCA shelter in 1998, few people had seen animals living in their own "apartments," with art on the walls and television sets playing videos of foraging songbirds and "101 Dalmatians."

It was also one of the first "no-kill" facilities in the country, meaning it stopped euthanizing unwanted animals.

Improving conditions
A sign leads visitors to more adoptable dogs at Richmond's new facility.

Since then, said Karen Pullen, a director at the Humane Society of America, shelters around the country have found small ways to improve the living conditions of their animals, from aromatherapy for cats to music therapy for dogs.

The Richmond SPCA borrowed ideas from nearly a dozen different shelters. The Nebraska Humane Society in Omaha, Nebraska, was the inspiration for a carwash-like cleaning system in the kennels. The reading room filled with cats came from a shelter in West Swanzey, New Hampshire.

Another thing many shelters are doing is offering behavior counseling to people who want to put their problem pets up for adoption. Pullen said some animal groups have even set up behavior hot lines, which she said dramatically reduces the number of pets dumped at city pounds.

Starr said the Richmond SPCA now offers counseling, and the shelter stopped euthanizing in January. With only the municipal pounds in the area still euthanizing, 1,100 fewer animals have been put to sleep this year compared with the same period last year, Deisler said.

The SPCA raised all of its own money -- about $14.2 million in total. While Pullen said the Richmond center may be extravagant, there haven't been protests over how the money has been spent.

"We have to remember a shelter is meant to be temporary, it's not a home," she said.

A huge thumbs up to Richmond. Is anyone out there from Virginia? Be proud. They are taking care of furkids.


Dee
Mom to Jessie, Nikkie, Luckie, Lady, Sammy & Sassy
 

debby

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Nov 5, 2000
Messages
10,983
Purraise
4
Location
Iowa
Wow! That is great!!!!! Thanks so much for sharing it with us!!!
 
Top