Same old business at new shelter

Springdale Animal Shelter puts adoptable pets in the lap of luxury

Mayor Doug Sprouse steps into the cat and kitten area during a tour Wednesday, October 14, 2020, of the Animal Shelter and Adoption Center of Springdale located at 1549 East Don Tyson Parkway in Springdale. Members of the Springdale City Council and city officials toured the new facility. Check out nwaonline.com/201015Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery.(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)
Mayor Doug Sprouse steps into the cat and kitten area during a tour Wednesday, October 14, 2020, of the Animal Shelter and Adoption Center of Springdale located at 1549 East Don Tyson Parkway in Springdale. Members of the Springdale City Council and city officials toured the new facility. Check out nwaonline.com/201015Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery.(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)

SPRINGDALE -- Linus eagerly sniffed the hands of visitors Wednesday who walked by his kennel at the Springdale Animal Shelter. The young, white Labrador retriever was basking in the fall sun -- and the attention -- from his outdoor kennel.

The city's Animal Services officers brought Linus in that morning as a stray and sent him home with his owners that afternoon, said Courtney Kremer, director of animal services for the city.

The city's new shelter on Don Tyson Parkway, east of Old Missouri Road, features outdoor spaces for dogs.

Cats get their own sunning done, too, in the outdoor "Catio" at the end of the cat adoption room.

City Council members and city staff toured the 5,000-square-foot shelter Wednesday. The shelter staff held an open house Saturday -- with tours of the building led by adoptable dogs.

Springdale voters in February 2018 approved a $200 million bond issue, which included $4.7 million to build a shelter. The city bought the 4 acres for the shelter for $550,000 in September 2019. Construction and architectural services cost $4.1 million.

Animal Services is operating on a budget of $864,000 this year and has 13 employees, including three animal control officers, Kremer said.

A few months before the bond vote, the old shelter held 40 dogs doubled up in kennels and 40 cats in 28 cages. Ten more dogs awaited space on the adoption floor.

Kremer reported 1,923 animals served in 2019 at the city's old shelter on East Randall Wobbe Lane. The shelter staff were able to return 686 pets to their owners and find adoptive owners for 879. Rescue groups took 189.

The shelter has a 90% live release rate, but 168 animals were euthanized or died at the shelter last year, she said.

"And one cat ran away," she reported.

The animals were housed in three buildings, which were hard to clean and hard for potential adopters to find, she said.

Seventeen dogs in 37 kennels and 17 cats in 28 cages greeted their guests Thursday in the bright adoption rooms at the new shelter.

Kremer explained the shelter has recorded much lower numbers with this year's impending move and the precautions to prevent the spread of covid-19. Animal services staff returned pets to owners before they were taken to the shelter while others worked hard to get animals placed with rescue organizations.

"And 2020 in no way can be called a normal year," she said.

All animals were socially distanced, with empty kennels separating them from their neighbors, Kremer told Council members.

A 2016 needs assessment by Shelter Planners of America of Arlington, Texas, noted the national average of animals received at shelters is 3% to 4% of a city's population.

The report projected 108,285 residents in Springdale in 2026, with an animal intake of 4,159, and 138,088 population and 4,159 animals in 2036.

"In the needs assessment, we looked at 10 years, but designed for 20," Mayor Doug Sprouse said.

The shelter remains open for adoption and owner release only by appointment because of the continued limitations from the Arkansas Department of Health, Kremer said.

ANIMALS FIRST

"The most important thing is keeping the animals safe and healthy," Kremer told the council members as she showed off the shelter's two quarantine wings.

These areas included nine spaces for dogs and 22 for cats. Staff can isolate animals that show signs of sickness on intake or anytime during their stays, Kremer said.

"We can get them away from the other animals and address their issues," she said. "This is the way it's supposed to be done."

She knows firsthand the importance of segregating sick animals. The shelter closed for several weeks in 2019 with an outbreak of distemper, which easily spreads through animals' respiratory systems.

The new shelter features separate air ventilation systems in each wing, completely cycling the air 12 to 14 times a day, Kremer said proudly. The ventilation systems do not interact with similar equipment on other wings to ensure disease does not spread through the entire shelter.

Two other wings in the shelter provide 26 kennels for dogs and 16 for cats as they wait the required five days for owners to claim them before they are placed for adoption and moved to kennels open to the public.

"Every room where there are animals has these epoxy floors," Kremer said excitedly as she used her toes to point out another favorite feature. The durable epoxy finish eases the cleaning process. The shelter has a pressure washer system to which employees simply link a hose, then soak the floor with chemicals and rinse with water.

"It's pretty remarkable," she said. "It takes that stuff right off."

And staff can close the doors between the indoor and outdoor dog kennels, allowing them to clean one area without canine interference from the other side.

MAKING MAGIC

The magic happens in the adoption wings.

Megan Scrivner and Cole Swearingen said they were just driving by and not looking for a pet when they came to the open house Saturday afternoon. They said they weren't looking for another pet.

But the attitude began to change as they walked by the classroom. "Ooooh," Scrivner said as a black-and-white cat preened for attention.

Inside the cat room, Jeremiah jumped immediately into Swearingen's lap. "And it was all over," Scrivner said. They submitted an application before leaving.

Jeremiah came in as a stray with an infected hole in his neck, bigger than a quarter, said Meredith Salts, an animal technician for the shelter. Shelter staff took him to the vet, got him treated and his stitches were hidden under a scarf.

"We wish we could take him home today," Swearingen said.

Jane Hocker of Prairie Grove drove about an hour to attend the open house.

She adopted Homer, a 10-year-old, big white dog, from the old shelter, she said. She adopted him about five years ago until age caught up with him recently.

"He was kind of a mess," Hocker continued. "He couldn't eat solid food. And he shed something horrible. He'd been at the shelter forever."

Hocker said she almost skipped the open house, considering the long drive.

"But I'm so glad I did come. This is a special trip," she said.

She compared the old shelter to the new one.

"That was the worst place in the world," she said. "This is the best place. I'm smiling behind my mask."

TIME TO PLAY

The new shelter features 37 indoor-outdoor kennels for dogs. A half wall down the middle of two rows of kennels limits interaction between dogs that might seem aggressive and those who are submissive.

The adoptable cats have 28 cages in which to lounge. Seven playful kittens made themselves at home Wednesday in the community room, set on chasing and climbing and pouncing with and on their siblings.

The glass-walled room -- and another for dogs -- is a place for potential adopters to spend time with their considerations. The shelter also features six fenced, grassy areas for further interaction -- or just a place for the animals to play.

"We're going to start some play groups and let them get out here and stretch their legs," Kremer said. "The green space is so nice," she continued. "It's still hard to believe. We're just so appreciative that this even became real."

Just past the outside kennels, architects added grassy berms as another way to block the loud barks of the dogs. A iron fence and brick wall also surround the shelter.

"We want to be a good neighbor," Kremer said.

Administrators of the nursing home next door protested when the Don Tyson Parkway site for the shelter first was announced. They took residents of the nursing home to speak against it at City Council meetings. The facility since has been sold.

"We're fine with it," said Bob Martin of the nursing center. Martin is the current administrator for Edgewood Health & Rehabilitation Center.

Some residents plan to spend time at the shelter petting and playing with animals -- once the nursing facility is unlocked from its state-ordered covid-19 restrictions, he said.

"A lot of them like pets -- and had pets," Martin said. "But animals aren't allowed in a skilled nursing center."

The Don Tyson site was the fourth considered for the shelter. The city planned to build the shelter in the southeast corner of J.B. Hunt Park. Residents resisted, as they did with two other sites.

But Kremer is happy.

"I can't tell you how many times in the eight years I worked here people told me, 'I didn't even know Springdale had a shelter,'" Kremer said. "This is easier to get to. More people travel through the area. It's on a pretty street."

The city plans to build a phase of Dean's Trail bordering the eastern side of the shelter, Sprouse noted during Wednesday's tour. Dean's Trail will connect trails at Lake Fayetteville to the Jones Center and the downtown Springdale entertainment district.

Kremer hopes people using the trail will stop at the shelter and that people at the shelter will use the trail.

"And the volunteers will have more places to walk the animals," Kremer said.

Other future hopes include a veterinary clinic and community classroom. The site purposely has room for expansion.

"But for right now, it's just business as usual from the old shelter," she said.

Nancy Chavez (left) and Meredith Salts make identification cards Wednesday, October 14, 2020, at the Animal Shelter and Adoption Center of Springdale located at 1549 East Don Tyson Parkway in Springdale. Members of the Springdale City Council and city officials toured the new facility. Check out nwaonline.com/201015Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery.(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)
Nancy Chavez (left) and Meredith Salts make identification cards Wednesday, October 14, 2020, at the Animal Shelter and Adoption Center of Springdale located at 1549 East Don Tyson Parkway in Springdale. Members of the Springdale City Council and city officials toured the new facility. Check out nwaonline.com/201015Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery.(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)
Courtney Kremer, director of Animal Services, describes the adoptable dog pen area as she leads a tour Wednesday, October 14, 2020, of the Animal Shelter and Adoption Center of Springdale located at 1549 East Don Tyson Parkway in Springdale. Members of the Springdale City Council and city officials toured the new facility. Check out nwaonline.com/201015Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery.(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)
Courtney Kremer, director of Animal Services, describes the adoptable dog pen area as she leads a tour Wednesday, October 14, 2020, of the Animal Shelter and Adoption Center of Springdale located at 1549 East Don Tyson Parkway in Springdale. Members of the Springdale City Council and city officials toured the new facility. Check out nwaonline.com/201015Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery.(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)
Dogs sit in the adoptable dog pen area as Courtney Kremer, director of Animal Services, leads a tour Wednesday, October 14, 2020, of the Animal Shelter and Adoption Center of Springdale located at 1549 East Don Tyson Parkway in Springdale. Members of the Springdale City Council and city officials toured the new facility. Check out nwaonline.com/201015Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery.(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)
Dogs sit in the adoptable dog pen area as Courtney Kremer, director of Animal Services, leads a tour Wednesday, October 14, 2020, of the Animal Shelter and Adoption Center of Springdale located at 1549 East Don Tyson Parkway in Springdale. Members of the Springdale City Council and city officials toured the new facility. Check out nwaonline.com/201015Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery.(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)

More News

By the numbers

Animal shelters

37: Kennels for adoptable dogs

28: Cages for adoptable cats

26: Kennels for dog stray hold

16: Cages for cat stray hold

9: Isolation kennels for dogs

22: Isolation cages for cats

1,972: Animals through old shelter in 2019

879: Animals adopted in 2019

Source: Springdale Animal Services

Laurinda Joenks can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWALaurinda.

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