JUNE 18, 2009 ISSUE
Humane Society Breaks Ground on New Animal Shelter
Watauga Humane Society supporters dig their shovels into the ground to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new 16,000-square-foot Irma Baker Lyons Adoption Center off of Don Hayes Road. Photo by James FayWith blue skies, a light breeze and a view of the rolling hills just off Old Highway 421 in eastern Watauga County, it was a beautiful day for the groundbreaking of the Watauga Humane Society’s new Irma Baker Lyons Adoption Center. Several dozen supporters and about a dozen dogs gathered at the site on Saturday, June 13, to celebrate the beginning of the shelter’s construction.
The 16,000-square-foot LEED-certified center is slated to open in fall 2010. The new adoption center and complex will include state-of-the-art kennels, outside areas for play and behavioral training, a community room for behavioral training classes, children’s programs, meetings and conferences, a gift shop, a medical and surgical unit, quarantine areas, administration office space and storage, memorial gardens and walking paths.
The Watauga Humane Society incorporated in 1969. Its mission is to prevent cruelty to animals, to relieve suffering among animals and to provide humane education.
“We’ve been here for 40 years this year, and I think that’s just miraculous,” said Shaun Lundy, the newly elected president of the Humane Society board of directors.
The Humane Society’s current shelter is located on Casey Lane, along the Boone Greenway and very close to the New River. The current shelter has been constructed in phases, but some of the kennels are nearly 40 years old. The shelter’s cat mall was built in 1985.
“It has been known for a long time that we needed a new shelter,” Lundy said.
In 1997, Bob and Lillian Turchin issued a fundraising challenge to build a new animal shelter. The fundraising campaign was successful, but because of the current shelter’s proximity to the New River and location in a floodplain, the Humane Society learned it could not build a new facility on the current site. The Humane Society purchased about 14 acres off Don Hayes Road for about $370,000 and constructed the first new facility on the property, a dog park, in 2006. The property sits at the top of a hill.
“When this is built, we’re not going to have to worry about that creek or river overflowing, are we?” Lundy said to the crowd at the groundbreaking.
The original estimated cost of the new shelter facility was $2.7 million, but the Humane Society is currently in discussions with prospective contractors, so the costs could change, Lundy said.
Recently, the Watauga Humane Society underwent some major personnel changes, as former executive director Janet Pepin, former board president Lisa Van Arnam, former secretary Susan Dukes and former board members Sarah Gilley and Barbara Doughton resigned early last week, days before the groundbreaking ceremony.
Lundy said the Humane Society’s challenges—including increasing operating costs, decreased donations and an immediate need to replace a dilapidated shelter—place a lot of stress on the organization’s staff and volunteers.
“The board members who resigned believed their resignations were the right thing to do personally and for the Watauga Humane Society. The same is true of Ms. Pepin,” Lundy said. “We thank those who resigned for their past service [and] trust they will continue to support our organization, and the Watauga Humane Society will move in a positive direction like we have for 40 years.”
At a meeting on June 11, the Board of Directors added Jan Watson, Bill Jolly and Cindy Liutkus to its number and elected Lundy as president and Kathy Copley was elected as secretary.
Lundy said the organization is currently focused on finalizing the new shelter construction contracts and will address the hiring of a new executive director in the future.
Pepin could not be reached for comment as of press time.
For more information about the Watauga Humane Society and the new animal shelter, call 828-264-7865 or click to www.wataugahumanesociety.org.
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