First look: Humane Society's new campus (w/photo gallery)
Apr. 18—CHAMPAIGN — On one side of the building are the cats, each of them in their own little cat condo complete with perches, separate hiding spaces and, for notably better air quality for all, vented litter boxes.
On the other side of the building are the dogs — lots of them — each in their own separate kennel spaces, but still doing their best to out-bark each other as visitors walk by.
Welcome to the new campus of the Champaign County Humane Society, where the animals moved in a month ago and walk-in visits from the public were resumed just last week.
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at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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Lox waits in a holding cage at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
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BeeBee, left, and Noah wait in their cages at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
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The front desk at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
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A special room for adoptions to take place at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
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The new cages for the cats at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
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An operating room at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
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A cat gets an exam at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
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Executive Director — Mary Tiefenbrunn talks about the new bathing machine for animals at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
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The new dishwasher for dog bowls that completes it's cycle in 2 minutes at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
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The new vac system for cleaning floors at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
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Shadow, left, and his neighbor watch the door for activity at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
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Offices on the second floor at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
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The break room on the second floor at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
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Education and dog training space with a cushioned floor for agility training at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
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The Queen Mills Memorial Wall that was at the former building, sits outside at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
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The main building at the at the Champaign County Humane Society's new location on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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PHOTO GALLERY: Champaign County Humane Society's New Location
A tour of the new home of the Champaign County Humane Society at 4003 Kearns Dr. in Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023. The new location is three times the size of the former location in Urbana.
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at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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Lox waits in a holding cage at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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BeeBee, left, and Noah wait in their cages at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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The front desk at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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A special room for adoptions to take place at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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The new cages for the cats at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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An operating room at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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A cat gets an exam at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
Buy Now
Executive Director — Mary Tiefenbrunn talks about the new bathing machine for animals at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
Buy Now
The new dishwasher for dog bowls that completes it's cycle in 2 minutes at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
Buy Now
The new vac system for cleaning floors at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
Buy Now
Shadow, left, and his neighbor watch the door for activity at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
Buy Now
Offices on the second floor at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
Buy Now
The break room on the second floor at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
Buy Now
Education and dog training space with a cushioned floor for agility training at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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The Queen Mills Memorial Wall that was at the former building, sits outside at the Champaign County Humane Society's new buildings on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
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The main building at the at the Champaign County Humane Society's new location on the west side of Champaign on Monday, April 17, 2023.
* Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette
The Humane Society tripled its space with this move from its longtime home in Urbana to two buildings at 4003 Kearns Drive, C.
The signs weren't up outside as of Monday, but you can't miss the buildings — dark gray, each with a red stripe around the bottom.
Humane Society Executive Director Mary Tiefenbrunn said the cats and other small animals seem to be adjusting well to the move, but the dogs are having a bit tougher time.
At the moment, it's a full house in the dogs' quarters, and there's still mud outside where the grass is going to be for daily walks with volunteers.
"The dogs are not as calm as I would like them to be," Tiefenbrunn said.
While the animals have been getting adjusted to the new facilities, so have the staff, she said.
"A lot of the things we addressed here were deficiencies we had at the old building," Tiefenbrunn said.
For example — the cats and other small animals are on their own side of the main building, to reduce the stress of being near the dogs. Medical and common areas are in the center.
Formerly living in cages in a hallway at the Urbana facility, the rabbits and other small animals now have their own dedicated areas. And since they get no outdoor time, Tiefenbrunn said there are plans to add a play area for them in part of a large second-story storage area.
Some of the other features of the new buildings include:
* Natural light for the dogs and cats.
* Separate, more private entrances for people who come to the shelter to surrender their pets, intended to decrease the stress on both the animals and the owners, Tiefenbrunn said.
* Isolation rooms for sick animals, a bigger surgery suite and a grooming room with a state-of-the-art tub that can be raised and lowered.
* A dishwasher that sterilizes dog bowls in two minutes flat — replacing what had been a time-consuming process.
* A small event space with a kitchen and a meeting room. In the old facility, there was no meeting space, "no room for a staff meeting even," Tiefenbrunn said.
* An education and dog training space with a cushioned floor for agility training in the second building, which is also home to a holding space and a behavior assessment space for incoming dogs. The holding space for incoming cats is in the other building.
The move has been a long time coming for the Humane Society, which started a capital campaign in 2017 and has since concluded it. The original plan was to remodel the Urbana location at 1911 E. Main St., but the Kearns Drive location came with two existing buildings that have been gutted and completely remodeled.
Many of the volunteers who served at the former shelter have returned to help out at the new campus, but more volunteers are needed, Tiefenbrunn said.
Yet to be resolved is the Humane Society's lease with the county for its old quarters, which runs until 2026. The Humane Society owns its former building in Urbana but has been leasing the land there from the county, and the lease runs though 2026.
Champaign County Executive Steve Summers said county officials are in the process of working with Tiefenbrunn and the Humane Society board on disposition of the building.
