KPFL working toward new shelter

By GWEN ALBERS Western News Reporter

Kootenai Pets for Life is one step closer to building a new animal shelter in Libby.

Volunteers for the non-profit agency on Friday put up a sign on the property it will lease from the city for $100 over 25 years. It's located on Bubba Road between Pipe Creek and Kootenai River roads behind Dream Marine and adjacent to the Lincoln County Animal Control facility.

Construction on the shelter should begin next spring, said Eileen Carney, president of Pets for Life. It's expected to be completed by fall.

Signing the lease for the property will enable Pets for Life to apply for grants to pay for construction. So far, $8,300 has been raised for the $700,000 project, Carney said.

Volunteers also will hold fundraisers.

Pets for Life has had its "no-kill" shelter for dogs and cats in Troy since 2002. The facility is too small.

Libby City Council in February agreed to lease the property to Kootenai Pets for Life for the new shelter despite opposition from a council committee and 20 residents who signed a petition against the project. Some expressed concerns about barking dogs.

The shelter will be built with thick walls to provide sound insulation.

"There will be many improvements over what we have in the shelter in Troy," said Judy Hyslop, shelter director and vice president of Kootenai Pets for Life. "We've got to get some grants written and this lease gives us (the ability to do so)."

The shelter will have 12 kennels for dogs, a cat room with five separate areas to segregate the animals by age and temperament, quarantine and surgery areas, a grooming area and a viewing room for people looking to adopt an animal.

Since it's a no-kill shelter, some of the dogs have been there since 2003, Carney said.

"We are looking to provide more compassionate care," Hyslop said.