‘This is not an ideal environment.’ Horry County to decide fate of local animal shelter

As helicopters carrying sightseers flew low over a yard of corrugated steel and chain-link kennels, about 70 dogs being cared for by Grand Strand Humane Society workers barked feverishly.

Inside, dozens more yelped and leaped in their pens as potential owners or volunteers walked through. Its rudimentary drainage system can’t cloak the persistent odor of animal waste mingled with storm water.

Despite its moniker, the animal rescue group’s headquarters, which opened in 1972 and expanded in 2001, wasn’t designed to be merciful, said Jessica Wnuk, Grand Strand’s executive director.

“This is not an ideal environment to be sheltering animals, and it isn’t conducive to getting them adopted. It doesn’t allow them to show them at their best,” said Wnuk, 34.

After years of looking for a new location, the nonprofit believes a 111-acre parcel along River Oaks Drive is the ideal spot, but a zoning amendment is necessary before construction can begin.

“For our team, this is our life. And our team deserves this facility as much as our animals do, because they have given their hearts and souls to this community,” Wnuk said.

A decision by Horry County leaders this week could clear the way for a modern campus with cutting-edge technology and the ability for Wnuk and her team to offer better care.

Or, it could keep the humane society facility at the end of a Myrtle Beach cul-de-sac across the street from a Grand Strand Water and Sewer Authority treatment plant.

Petitions signed for and against proposed location

Councilman Dennis DiSabato, whose district includes the proposed location, plans to vote down the request.

“I’m not against the Grand Strand Humane Society. I’m against the location,” he said, echoing concerns from hundreds of his constituents who signed onto a petition opposing the rezone. A copy of that petition was not immediately available, but one created by the humane society to gauge support for its plan has gained nearly 3,700 signatures.

“I love animals, and I would be the first one to say that it’s a great plan, but a bad location. If this animal shelter was there first, would these homes exist around it?” Myrtle Beach resident Alayna DeFalco said.

On June 1, Horry County’s planning commission recommended approval of the zoning change.

If the humane society planned to simply transplant its current building onto the River Oaks site, Wnuk herself would protest. But gone are the days when animal shelters were designed simply to run out the clock before euthanasia.

“We keep animals as long as they need be kept until they find a forever home,” Wnuk said. That includes Roxy, a 4-year-old mixed breed dog who has spent nearly her entire life at the shelter and is still up for adoption.

Among the planned features for a new look facility:

• multi-tiered interior and exterior sound mitigation such as sound absorption kennel materials, soundproof fencing and the addition of mature landscaping, berm and water features.

• Occupancy of less than 3 percent of the overall acreage to promote environmental sustainability

• Installation of modern HVAC and plumbing systems that feature 4, 8 and 12-minute air exchanges, individual kennel drains and odor-proofing

• Low cost veterinary clinic

• On-site humane education classes

New shelter would cost at least $6 million

Wnuk said exterior landscaping, higher end building materials and a footprint that emphasizes walkability and animal interaction likely will get more pets into homes.

“I can’t tell you the number of people that walk through the (current) facility and say, ‘I can’t adopt today, because I would feel guilty about the ones I’m leaving behind,’” Wnuk said. “So think of how many adopters we’re losing like that.”

It’ll take around $6 million for the new building. Wnuk said a capital campaign has banked about half of that already, with private sector commitments expected to help cover the remaining cost.

Currently, the Humane Society has space for 73 dogs and 113 cats. During a recent visit by The Sun News, more than 90 dogs were on site. That’s because officials last year inked a two-year lease with Tanger Outlets to house its cats for adoption. More than 300 are there now.

Last year, Wnuk and her staff housed nearly 2,000 animals, including guinea pigs and rabbits, grew its foster network and completed 1,316 adoptions.

Wnuk had to interrupt a media interview on Sunday after Cassidy Hubbard and her husband, Jake, showed up with a salt-and-pepper kitten they found.

Wnuk cradled the animal, put it in a cage and then made a call for it to be transported to the Tanger Outlets location.

The Hubbards adopted a dog from the Humane Society and said a new location would be beneficial.

“It’s definitely overcrowded,” Jake said. “The community’s growing, it’s just like the more people you have, the more you need it.”