Friends of Animals volunteer Marsha Mosenthin said even she has a hard time being inside the North Little Rock Animal Shelter's adoption area.
"People come in there to adopt, and they go back and look at the animals who are in a dark and depressing area," she said. "It's a hot area. I don't want to hang around in there, and if the dogs are miserable, they're more sluggish and will not be as friendly to the people wanting to adopt."
As special-events chairman for Friends of Animals, the shelter's nonprofit fundraising group, Mosenthin is heading up a new campaign to get air conditioning for the 53-year-old shelter's adoption area. The project also would add skylights, central heating and new cages.
"We're the only shelter in central Arkansas that does not have an air-conditioned adoption section," said Billy Grace, North Little Rock's Animal Services director.
The Friends of Animals group has a goal of raising $50,000, with just $5,000 so far from a single donor who wanted to remain anonymous. Just adding air conditioning is estimated to cost $12,000, Mosenthin said.
"The goal with everything we want to do is to improve the quality of life for the animals and to make them more adoptable," Mosenthin said.
While the primary goal is air conditioning, "the big plans are to also put in skylights so natural light can come in there, so it's not so dark and gloomy and depressing. And new cages that are good for the animals and have long life and durability."
Adding air conditioning to the adoption section is a change in philosophy for dog kennels, Grace said. Having fresh, circulating air once was believed to be better to prevent airborne diseases within an enclosed environment, he said. Adding central heat and air will provide "a little more controlled environment," he said.
"Don't air-condition your kennel. Twenty years ago, that's what they were teaching our people when they'd go for training at the National Animal Control Academy," Grace said. "Now you hear different philosophies. You need air conditioning for the comfort of the animals and the staff.
"I saw everybody else get away with it, so we will do it, too. I think it's time to do it."
Last year, the North Little Rock Animal Shelter received 1,587 dogs and 1,129 cats from within North Little Rock, Grace said. As the only shelter that also accepts animals from all over Pulaski County, the facility took in another 847 dogs and 258 cats from around the county, he said.
Besides facilitating adoptions locally, the shelter participates in a rescue program in which adoptable dogs are taken by volunteers to shelters in Northern states that cannot meet demand for dogs. The shelter's Rescue Dog Program began in October 2011.
The shelter adopted out 1,016 dogs and cats last year.
"We have very hardworking people who donate a lot of free time" to help find homes for the animals, Grace said.
The 16-cage adoption area that would be air-conditioned is inside the main shelter building. Another eight adoption cages are in a garage area too large to air-condition, where a separate row of cages also houses dogs to be adopted through the rescue program. Large fans circulate the air in the garage. A paddock area for potential owners to interact with dogs before an adoption is outside in a covered area.
The animal shelter's budget for 2015 is $751,206, up $32,458 from 2014.
Friends of Animals raises additional money for the shelter through yard sales, chili suppers and donations. Those funds are used for the rescue program and other shelter needs, such as supporting a spay-and-neuter program. In 2013, the group raised more than $10,000 to purchase Kuranda beds, which are elevated pet beds with aluminum frames to get dogs and cats off the floor and keep them dry and comfortable. The group also provides veterinary services for pet owners who live in the city's high-rise senior housing.
"The money we do get is from fundraising," Mosenthin said. "We're volunteers. And we're limited by our number of people. We don't have that many active volunteers to try to do all of this. We need some new blood, new ideas and new people to reach out to for help."
Tax-deductible donations for the shelter project can to be sent to North Little Rock Friends of Animals, P.O. Box 1712, North Little Rock, Ark., 72116. Annual membership for Friends of Animals is $15 for individuals and $25 for a family. More information on Friends of Animals is available by contacting Animal Services at 791-8577 or Mosenthin at 753-8042.
Metro on 05/10/2015