New facility will be five times the size, complete in July
2008
Stop by the Hollister Animal Shelter now and it’s likely to be
crowded with people and pets. The shelter is a decade old and was
originally built to serve one staff member and half the number of
animals.
New facility will be five times the size, complete in July 2008
Stop by the Hollister Animal Shelter now and it’s likely to be crowded with people and pets. The shelter is a decade old and was originally built to serve one staff member and half the number of animals.
“It was built 25 years ago with grant money as a small shelter,” said Steve Wittry, the engineering manager for the city of Hollister. “It needs to be redesigned so it is more modern, more comfortable for staff…and more approachable for those coming in to adopt.”
By the middle of summer, the three staff members and a mix of volunteers will have much more space. The Redevelopment Agency staff have signed a contract with Sanchez Incorporation to build a $1.1 million facility for the shelter. The new location will be on South Street next to the Public Works department. The site will be 7,600 square feet.
In designing the new building the city engineering department worked with an architect, but included plenty of input from the police department and animal control.
“We want to make sure when we design it, it is on their standards, what they need,” said Louis Aguilar, an assistant engineer with the city. “Everything we have is the result of that design. We spent maybe less than a year on it and right now construction will be the easiest part.”
The project has been a long time coming.
“The shelter is built right along the side of a bank of the pond and we have no space to expand,” said Julie Carreiro, supervisor of animal control. “We only have 1,400 square feet and that’s not enough to handle almost 3,000 animals [a year] and a staff of three.”
Doug Emerson, the Hollister mayor, spoke briefly Dec. 20 at a groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility dressed in cargo pants and a gray Hollister sweatshirt to ward off the cold. He had brought along his two dogs Bruiser and Happy, but left them in his truck.
“They have been known to get out of the yard and go to doggy jail,” he said. “They will appreciate this new place…”
Emerson said the new facility is the first move to restoring the department to full staff.
“We’ve been forced to do reductions in every department,” he said. “We are here today with the first step.”
The staff at animal control showed up for the event in their army green uniforms. They brought along a 6-month-old German shepherd puppy that is available for adoption for the morning. The brown and gray girl named Misty jumped at the people gathered for the ceremony. She is just one of many animals housed at the shelter now.
The size of the current shelter has many limitations for staff and volunteers.
“This shelter was built in 1982 and it was built for one body and it was only built to handle 17 kennels,” Carreiro said.
The shelter does not have a sick room or a quarantine room, which would help prevent the spread of diseases such as kennel cough between the animals. It also has increased the number of kennels beyond capacity, with 28 kennels in a space built for only 17. The dog kennels are covered, but they are outdoors.
“They are outdoors to the elements,” said Pat Olbring, a volunteer from All Creatures Great and Small. “We won’t have to worry about the dogs.”
All Creatures Great and Small is a nonprofit that removes animals from the shelter into foster homes or for adoption when the shelter reaches capacity.
She and another volunteer, Susan Sailow, expressed concern about the space limitations as well.
“We’ve been waiting for so long,” Sailow said. “It’s kind of a shock that it’s actually happening.”
When Olbring started volunteering four years ago, there was talk of building a new facility.
“When people come to adopt, they get upset because it’s kind of depressing,” she said. “It would be nice to have a better facility and some more hours.”
Other volunteers from a rescue group SHARE also said they are happy at the move forward for the shelter. Kory and Leslie Stendell remove about 50 animals a year from the shelter. They started with cats and are just now getting into dogs. They keep the animals in North Hollister until they are able to adopt them out at pet fairs they hold at Pet World in Hollister and PetSmart in Gilroy.
“It will be easier to work at the shelter and for people who come into adopt,” Kory said. “It will open up the ability for more volunteers on site.”
Space is so limited now that when the full staff is at the shelter, it is hard for volunteers and visitors to move around. The area lacks a lobby and has limited space for potential adopters to take dogs or cats out to test their personalities.
“We are very encouraged that this will be a good fresh start,” Leslie said. “We can welcome the public more. It will turn the tide.”
At the new facility, the dog kennels will be indoor/outdoor with a small door for the dogs to pass through.
“The indoor will be heated and cooled to keep a constant temperature,” Carreiro said.
The new facility will also have 40 kennels, increasing the capacity for animals.
For more information on the Hollister Animal Shelter or local animal rescue groups, visit these links.
Hollister Animal Shelter, 636-4320
www.hollinet.com/~shelter/dog.html
All Creatures Great and Small, 636-7559
www.allcreaturesgs.org
Pet Friends of Hollister, 634-1191
www.petfriends.org
SHARE
408-807-0950
