Animal Shelter Needs Space

From North Augusta The Star
By By HALEY HUGHES

The Aiken County Animal Shelter has many needs, its staff and supporters say, but the principal one is space.
The 5,000-square-foot facility has remained largely unchanged since it was built in the 1990s with the capacity to house a maximum of 100 animals. These days, it is typical for the shelter to house up to 200 animals without the benefit of an expansion. And more unwanted animals come in -- be they strays or owner surrenders -- every day. In early May, the shelter reported taking in 50 animals in one day alone.
The sad reality is if an animal isn't adopted, the chances are very likely it will be euthanized. There is simply not enough room to keep for an indeterminate amount of time every cat and dog available for adoption because the shelter takes in so many, according to Animal Control Chief Enforcement Officer Bobby Arthurs. More space would allow the shelter to keep adoptable animals longer.
There is not enough room to adequately separate adoptable animals from those that are sick or vicious and there are no surgical preparation or recovery rooms.
Sixteen kennels are dedicated to adoptable animals. Some are guillotine runs, meaning a door can be lifted to allow dogs access to a covered, outdoor space. The others have no guillotines. The ideal number is two dogs per kennel. More often than not, three or more dogs share one kennel.
The shelter's remaining kennels hold the most recent arrivals. The dogs are kept there for several days while staff monitors their health and temperament before being given the OK to be placed up for adoption.
The $1 million Aiken County Council has agreed to fast track for a new shelter will help address the need for more space.
In exchange, Friends of the Animal Shelter (FOTAS) will pay $100,000 it has raised in private funds for architectural services, which includes a needs analysis. Upon the completion of the needs analysis, FOTAS and the Animal Control Advisory Committee will recommend to Council that either a new shelter be built, the existing one be renovated and expanded or an existing facility be purchased and improved.
"We need an adoption center large enough to house 50 dogs," Arthurs said. "Also, this building needs to be refurbished."
For instance, the wiring is old and the kennel area has no HVAC system, he noted. Cross ventilation is provided only by several industrial fans. The lack of adequate air circulation readily exposes health animals to airborne viruses.
"Whatever we do, I hope we do it soon because it will be a win-win," Arthurs said.
The County will make available the $1 million if a final design is completed before the next round of Capital Projects Sales Tax collections begin. The County will then pay itself back when collections begin some time in 2013.
Should the recommendation be to purchase an existing facility, a distinct possibility will be the SPCA building once the agency moves into its new facility.
"The SPCA approached us almost from the beginning," said Assistant County Administrator Todd Glover. "They have been discussing it with us on and off for several years. There is really a ton of possibilities, but we're limited on our budget. Even then, it (the SPCA site) may not be exactly what we need. But, with our budget, it may be what we have to do."