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Gene Kennedy reportingA new animal shelter is coming to Summit County. The group "Friends of Animals" says the goal is to find homes for pets and control the animal population too.
It's a full house at the Summit County Animal Shelter. Animal control officer Shellie Keetch said, "Just a lot of animals come into the shelter, and the relationship with friends with animals has been so good in the past."
Friends of Animals adopts 70 percent of these pets every month. Cats and dogs go to Furburbia in Park City, where pet lovers adopt their furry friends.
But in recent years, Furburbia has also become a place where you could hang a "no vacancy" sign. Cathy Clark, with Friends of Animals, said, "We've got cats and kittens stuffed everywhere."
When they're not in their kitty condos, the cats get out for some playtime. But you get the idea: these are tight quarters.
Three years ago, officials with the Summit County Animal Shelter talked seriously about expanding the shelter or building a new one. Friends of Animals now has that covered. "We're around, we're saving the taxpayers money. Summit County Friends of Animals will do the expansion," Clark said.
The new $1.5 million shelter will be built in the rolling hills of Browns Canyon, about 15 miles from Park City.
Friends of Animals board member Charlene Brewster said, "We'll just be able to have so many more animals that we can take care of."
Friends of Animals supports spaying and neutering, and the new shelter will facilitate that. Clark said, "We'll eventually have a clinic on site so we can help control the population."
Donations are paying for the new shelter. It's scheduled to be up and running by spring 2009.
For more information on Friends of Animals or the Furburbia Adoption Center, click on the related links.
E-mail: gkennedy@ksl.com
