History
The plan to build a new animal shelter was launched in December 2018 when land in Burkeville and $10,000 was donated to the County to replace the old and outdated animal shelter. The current shelter is 30 years old and no longer serves the needs of County animals and residents. A committee of County residents were asked to help plan and fund the new shelter. They formed NOTTOWAY CAReS, a volunteer 501(c)3 non-profit organization that has launched the Build A Better Shelter Campaign to raise $500,000 to augment the County’s budget for the project.
New Shelter Mission and Goals
Mission
- To build and maintain a new larger, modern, state compliant animal shelter that provides a high level of humane care for dogs and cats in need of rescue and adoption.
Goals
- Locate the shelter away from the landfill and in an area with good public access
- Meet or exceed state requirements
- Increase adoptions and reduce dependency on transfers
- Reduce euthanasia rates
- Ensure the shelter is efficient and cost effective to operate
- Provide protocols that assure safety for staff, volunteers and visitors
- Size the shelter for a 20-25 year lifespan
Needs Assessment
A new animal shelter is needed because the the current shelter does not meet prevailing or projected needs. The size is inadequate, the design is outdated and inefficient and the location at the landfill is unsuitable and inaccessible.
The condition of the building is deteriorating making it expensive to maintain and difficult to comply with state regulations.
The conditions of the existing shelter are not a reflection on the Animal Control Officers. They are doing the best they can give the limitations of the facility. They are dedicated and passionate in providing exemplary animal care.
Click the drop down items to view the Needs Assessment!
The existing shelter is located at 349 Livestock Road adjacent to the County landfill. It is not easily visible from route 460 due to the combination of forested areas and a lack of large, clearly defined signage. The adjacent buildings are County owned and are a mix of landfill operation facilities and storage sheds for the County. The shelter’s location at the landfill is difficult to access and a deterrent to anyone seeking to bring in or adopt an animal. When visiting the shelter, many people park outside of the gate to the facility, due to the mud or dust that is associated with the close proximity to the County Landfill.
- The current shelter is almost 30 years old.
- There is no bathroom. Animal Control Officers must leave the building to use the bathroom in the machine storage building used by landfill workers.
- There was no air conditioning until 2018.
- There are numerous plumbing problems: drains are open and without traps which allows backup and the septic smell to enter the building; small dogs and puppies cannot be put in kennels with open drains due to safety issues.
- The floors are cracked, uneven and need to be recoated. Uneven elevation in the flooring results in drainage from dog kennels to the walkways and between runs resulting in unsanitary conditions.
- The dividers between dog kennels have deteriorated at the bottom which allows urine and other liquids to flow from one kennel to another.
- The facility’s water quality and source is inadequate and unreliable. Tap water in the shelter is unsafe for human use; the well at the Livestock Market is the source for the shelter and when there are issues ACO’s have to bring in water for animal consumption, and/or suspend animal intakes until water service is restored. No cleaning of kennels, cages, dishes or bedding can occur when water service is not available.
- Lack of power backup results in the same water supply issues during power outages, as well as difficulties in operation due to lack of emergency lighting and back up power sources.
- Laundry hooks ups were only installed in late 2019. Before then either ACOs did laundry at home or disposable bedding, etc. was used. The laundry area has residential washer and dryers which do not last as long as commercial appliances given the heavy use.
- Inadequate storage space results in food, medicine, cleaning supplies and bedding being stored in the same rooms and in unused cat cages at the facility.
- The existing office area for the Animal Control Officers, which also doubles as a break room, is very cramped and not an efficient work space or conducive to receiving and transacting business with shelter visitors.
- Cracks in some walls allow air leakage and promotes energy inefficiency.
- There is only one small isolation room for sick animals and no provision to separate sick dogs and cats. The cage units are metal rather than stainless steel and difficult to decontaminate and clean and are subject to rust.
- The shelter is 1100 sf (exterior measurement) and too small to function properly and maintain State compliance
- The adjacent storage shed is 99 sq. ft. and necessary due to lack of storage space in the building.
- The concrete pad around the building is 826 sq ft.
- The fenced in exercise area behind the building is 2094 sq. ft.
- There are too few dog kennels and no outside runs for dogs requiring Animal Control Officers to move animals to outside areas individually which detracts from other duties .
- The shelter is too small to accommodate the number the of requests to bring cats to the shelter; only six can be housed at one time, no designated space for kittens.
- Cats are underserved due to lack of space and inadequate housing. Cats are housed in a cramped, windowless room adjacent to the dog kennels. There are only 9 cages but due to stacking the bottom 3 cages are too low to the floor level to be usable.
- There is no space for whelping mother cats or dogs
- There is no secure entrance for animals, i.e. sally port.
- Rooms must do double duty, ACO office and public space; storage for food, laundry, cleaning equipment, supplies, bedding,
- There is no space for animals to be viewed for adoption.
- There is no room for future growth in County need for shelter services
New Animal Shelter Site
