White River Humane Society breaks ground on new facility on Wesley Chapel Road

Garet Cobb
·2 min read
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Members of the White River Humane Society Board of Directors, along with other supporters, cheer during the groundbreaking ceremony for the new WRHS facility to-be on Wesley Chapel Road Wednesday Aug. 30, 2023.
Members of the White River Humane Society Board of Directors, along with other supporters, cheer during the groundbreaking ceremony for the new WRHS facility to-be on Wesley Chapel Road Wednesday Aug. 30, 2023.

Members of the White River Humane Society Board of Directors, along with other supporters, cheered Wednesday morning during the groundbreaking ceremony for the new WRHS facility on Wesley Chapel Road.

The current shelter was established in 1975 and has problems with ventilation, drainage, and deteriorating kennels. A "fear free" design for the new shelter aims to decrease the stress and frustration of the animals. Complete indoor housing of the animals will also be a huge improvement. There will be separate areas for dogs and cats, so cats will not be stressed by the barking of the dogs.

White River Humane Society Board President Debbie Stailey addresses the crowd before the groundbreaking ceremony for a new White River Humane Society facility on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023.
White River Humane Society Board President Debbie Stailey addresses the crowd before the groundbreaking ceremony for a new White River Humane Society facility on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023.

The WRHS Building Fund has been created to raise money for the new shelter. Raising money for the facility is in addition to fundraising that currently supports shelter operations. It costs about $890 a day to run the shelter. The new shelter is estimated to cost between $3 million and $4 million.

The WRHS Building Fund currently has about $770,000. Anyone wanting to donate to the WRHS Building Fund, can mail a check to: WRHS, PO Box 792, Bedford, IN 47421. Write "New Building Fund" in the check memo line.

Donations can also be made via PayPal on the website, WhiteRiverHumaneSociety.org, and follow up with an email to whiteriverhumanesociety@gmail.com to designate the donation to the Building Fund.

Dana and his wife Brenda Dunbar address the crowd after the groundbreaking ceremony for a new White River Humane Society facility on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023
Dana and his wife Brenda Dunbar address the crowd after the groundbreaking ceremony for a new White River Humane Society facility on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023

Dana and his wife Brenda Dunbar addressed the crowd after the groundbreaking ceremony. The Dunbars donated a large parcel of ground for the site of the new building. The land is adjacent to the southbound lanes of Ind. 37. Wesley Chapel Road borders the property on the North side.

"We're (WRHS) trying to be the best neighbors we can be," said Dana Dunbar. Dunbar was referring to choosing an exact location on the donated property, which hasn't been decided yet. "This will get done one way or another with everybody's help," said Dunbar.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bedford animal shelter breaks ground on future facility