New animal shelter slowly but surely happening

The Kootenai Pets For Life has dug a well, completing the first stage in building their new animal shelter in Libby, which will replace their Troy facility.

The KPFL Board plans to start with the foundation as soon as they obtain the necessary funds for their new site, located on Bubba Road between River Road and Pipe Creek Road.

KPFL President Eileen Carney has been busy locating the needed money.

"We have about $35,000, and we need about $200,000 to completely finish," she said. "We're doing lots of fundraising - I've written out 30 requests for grants."

According to Carney, most of the funding requests are through non-governmental grants, due to their tighter guidelines.

"If we go for government money, then the requirements are so much stronger for how we have to build it, so we're hoping we don't have to," she said.

Carney is optimistic they will get the money they need - their annual Bow Wow Bash raised about $7,000 alone.

"There are a lot of groups out there that are very interested in helping animals," she said, adding they even sent a letter to about 300 people asking for donations.

So far, the answers have been trickling in, with most of the grants taking about four months.

"We've gotten two this week - one for $10,000 and one for $5,000. It's going to take a few of those."

One of the grants was accompanied by a letter of praise.

"The thing that impressed them was the number of volunteer hours," said Carney.

With only two full-time employees, KPFL currently has a whopping 123 volunteers who donated 4,935 hours in the shelter in 2007, according to Judy Hyslop, KPFL director.

These numbers only count people who have come into the shelter and worked, and don't include the people who do other activities for KPFL, such as grant writing, doing the Web pages or bookwork.

"There are a lot of people out there who do something for KPFL," said Hyslop, "whether it's walking the dogs or donating dog food to the Food Pantry."

Some of the youngest ones include eight children who attend the Seventh Day Adventist Church school.

Hyslop said the children do an excellent job of tending the cats once a week.

Leslie Chavez, a parent of one of the children, takes turns driving them to the shelter.

"We only take two or three kids at a time," she said. "They know the routine, as far as signing in. I think the teamwork has made it work out."

Each child is assigned three (litter) boxes. They get rubber gloves, clean the boxes and sweep and scrub the floor. Then they treat the cats with medication and make sure they have food, water and a warm, safe environment.

"We provide shelter, love, security and cleanliness," said Chavez. "She (Hyslop) always wants to make sure the aninmals have love."

"She has a nice way of making the kids feel they did a good thing," said Chavez.

"They've learned a lot," she added. "I think as adults we have to pick up and say, 'Hey, c'mon let's go! Hopefully the kids learn it's an opportunity to give back to the community in a way that can benefit the whole place," said Chavez.

In the meantime, KPLF is also raising money through its recycling program.

Their spay and neuter program can net up to $200 per month, depending on how many aluminum cans, magazines, newspapers and office paper is donated into their recycling program.

People can bring their recyclables to Kootenai Disposal, from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, alerting them it's for KPFL.

KPFL also has recycling sites at the Senior Citizens Center and Homesteaders, open 24 hours a day. KPFL volunteers then deliver it to Kootenai Disposal.

Hyslop said the program began in May 2006 and has steadily increased since then.

"When we first established the program, it took us from May to November to get to $197," she said.

It took from November to March and March to May to get to the $200.

"We've watched it get better," said Hyslop. "Our goal is that enough stuff gets recycled so we'll reach that $200 goal every month. That would make a big difference in our spay and nueter progam."

The recycling not only benefits KPFL, it helps the community.

"It saves the landfill from having all this stuff," said Hyslop. "It helps people clean up the county."

"People in Troy can bring their recycles to the shelter," she said, asking that people separate their recyclables no matter where they drop them off.

KPFL will also go to businesses and pick up the recyclables.

"Our volunteers will literally come to your business and pick it up. Call Carol McAllister at 293-3435 - we do it for the Libby Clinic and the CDM office."

Hyslop said the shelter location switches from Troy to Libby and was facilitated by a 25-year lease contract between the city of Libby and KPLF for land on which the new facility will be built.

Another reason for the move is Troy's City Council plan to tear down the current shelter building, replacing it with walking paths and landscaping from the museum down to Roosevelt Park.

"All of this is going to take time," said Hyslop. "We've got to work toward this goal."

The shelter works closely with other pet organizations from around the country and as close as Missoula and Kalispell.

"Whenever they have excess food, they call us and we pick it up," said Hyslop of the Kalispell Humane Society. "If there's something we can use, we do," she said, adding that they pass what they don't use to the Food Pantry.

If people are in need of dog food, they can go to the food pantries.

Hyslop said a lot of people have come forward who have said they will help with the building of the new shelter, donating time and materials.

"That's what we need is lots of people doing whatever they can do," she said.

Among the changes to a more compassionate building will be intake rooms for new dogs and cats, quarantine rooms, and more space overall.

"Right now we bring them in the office," said Hyslop of the animals that need to be separated for whatever reason.

According to Hyslop, Troy's shelter is not a compassionate building, as it was built when euthanasia was the only method of animal control and was used as a holding tank for that purpose.

"At that time, animals were held for 72 hours and then put to death if no owner or someone willing to adopt did not come forward," she said. "We've done the best we could.

"Over 1,000 pets have been adopted since 2001, since we started," she said.

The new building will provide a more animal friendly shelter for KPFL.

"There will be three cat rooms, so the young ones will have their own space and not bother the older cats, as well as a room for the sick cats," said Hyslop of the Libby shelter.

They currently have one big area for the cats and one area for the dogs, who are separated only by their cages.

"The separation will make a big, big difference," said Hyslop.

Currently one black lab pup is the youngest available, but the shelter usually sees lots of kittens and puppies in the springtime.

People interested in volunteering, donating or adopting may call KPFL at 293-4936.