Stark Humane Society set to rework its facilities

NIMISHILLEN TWP. − A cat's life can be a bit stressful while living at the Stark County Humane Society, when the feline looks outside its cage and sees a confined dog barking nearby.

To address such concerns, the Humane Society is working to implement an interior renovation project known as the Koret Shelter Medicine Program. The initiative, when completed, will result in a complete separation of the resident cats and dogs.

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"One section of the building we will have all felines, and the other section for dogs," said Jackie Godbey, executive director of the Stark County Humane Society. "We may have to knock down some walls and add some kennels. We are going to add some play areas for cats and some catios (enclosed patio for cats). We are going to use the shell of the building and transform the inside. It is a five-year plan. It is going to take us that long. We are looking to do a lot of remodeling over the next five years."

The Humane Society shelter, at 5100 Peach St. NE, was constructed in 1975. Despite its name, the Stark County Humane Society is not a part of the local county government. It is a private, nonprofit entity with a mission of providing shelter and medical care for abandoned, abused or injured animals. The intent is to house the animals until someone adopts them.

New areas to include designated spaces

The shelter area for cats is to be on the north side of the Humane Society shelter while the dogs will be housed on the south side. A corridor will separate the two shelter areas.

Animals are housed at the Humane Society "as long as they are friendly and healthy," Godbey said. "There is no time limit. We try to make sure we are at full capacity all the time. We have a waiting list for animals to get in here. We took in over 4,000 animals last year."

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The Koret Shelter Medicine Program was developed at the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. The intent of those who designed the program was to promote more humane settings within animal shelters.

According to the Koret Shelter Medicine Program website, it is desirable for the animals to have more space to maneuver than what is available in a standard-size cage. The additional space adds to the animal's health and well-being.

Presently, officials with the Stark County Humane Society do not have an estimate on how much the five-year project will cost.

"We kind of have a general direction of where we want to go with it," said Scott Hunter, a retired veterinarian who is vice president of the Humane Society Board. "We are fairly early in the stages of it. We don't know what the cost will be to cover what we have planned. It is going to be a step-by-step process. We know where we have to start. When the funds allow us to do more, you do that step-by-step."

Society raising money for construction project

Godbey expressed optimism about fundraising.

"We do a fundraiser every year, and we are going to apply for some grants," she said. "I am a believer that we are a strong agency and we have a great community. I would hope the community would help out with attending fund-raising events or in-kind donations."

The starting point will be construction of a 2,304-square-foot building in the parking lot. This structure will be used for storage.

"We are trying to free up space," Hunter said. "Areas that are (currently) used for storage we want to use for increasing animal space. For instance, one area used for storage will be more dog runs."

Also, there will be installation of new infrastructure in the parking lot to improve drainage.

"We can't look at remodeling if we have a problem with water," Hunter said.

To prepare plans for the project, the Humane Society held virtual meetings with the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine staff. The people in California were able to see inside the Stark County Humane Society without visiting this area.

"They saw the facility," Godbey said. "We did a full walk-through more than once. We have been working off their guidelines."

Along with completely separating cats from dogs, the project will involve consolidating the veterinarian and laundry areas.

"This way it will be a little better flow of traffic," Godbey said. "It (currently) goes from adoption to isolation to adoption. This will allow us to be a little bit more organized when the community comes to visit us."

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Stark Humane Society to rework facilities in five-year plan