Two by two they entered — animals and their human friends.
Cats came in carriers with balloons attached. Excited dogs dressed in leis and bandanas led their handlers to their new home.
The new, $3.2 million Brown County Humane Society shelter received its first occupants on June 12.
Five kittens were the first to enter with Anna Brester Gartner, daughter of beloved veterinarian Dr. James Brester. A room in the new building was named for her father.
The kittens began playing away in the cat community room in the lobby as media visitors toured the building. The shelter officially opened to the public on June 17.
“Since the pandemic we have not been opened, it has been by appointment only. This has been really fun. We’re going back to normal now,” said Brown County Humane Society President Sue Ann Werling.
The humane society shelter operated next door to this new building for more than 30 years. Supporters managed to raise more than $3.2 million for the new shelter in less than three years; construction started during the pandemic.
A second fundraising initiative brought in $225,000 to cover the furnishings. Money was raised through a combination of donations, grants and support from foundations, with the majority coming from personal donations, Werling said.
The result is a “healthier, safer and more comfortable environment for everyone,” the society reported in a press release.
The shelter will now be open every day from noon to 5 p.m. except for Tuesdays and Thursdays.
What’s inside
The lobby features a large reception desk with two sets of paw prints prancing on the ceiling, leading visitors to either the cat or dog wing.
T-shirts and leashes also will be sold in the lobby.
A new medical room was named in honor of Dr. Brester. Tears filled Gartner’s her eyes as the door opened to the shiny, new space. Animals who come into the shelter will receive their vaccines and get de-wormed here.
A total of $67,790 was raised for that room from family members and former clients of Brester’s Bean Blossom Animal Clinic. “The community came out in droves to support this room,” Werling said.
Off of the medical room is a door to the two-car garage which will house the shelter’s vans and provide additional storage. The former shelter building will also be kept for storage, Werling said.
In the cat wing, are kennels, two community rooms for cats who get along with others, a meet-and-greet room for potential adoptions, and kennels for cats with medical conditions or who need to be isolated.
There are windows into each room so visitors can easily check out the cats.
The cat community rooms in the back of the shelter have access to the outdoors via “catios.” Each community room can accommodate four to six cats depending on their size. The patios are fully fenced all the way to the top, too.
“We have catnip out there, some bird feeders out there and that kind of thing,” Werling said.
“They are not going to want to leave.”
At the old shelter, there was not a spot for visitors to meet with cats for potential adoptions.
The cat kennels are for the cats who prefer being alone, but they also have access to the patios outside. Visitors can see those cats from the hallway through windows, too.
A separate dog wing includes kennels for small and large dogs, stray dog kennels, a dog assessment room, a meet-and-greet room, and kennels for dogs needing medical care.
Eight kennels have access to the fenced-in outdoor areas which have new beds and toys.
A box sits in the corner of the dog meet-and-greet room that will be filled with all kinds of toys.
There is also a grooming room in the dog wing, with a large bathtub that bigger dogs can step into. It is a smaller room, so there is less space to clean after the dogs do their shakes after getting a bath, Werling said.
The room for small dogs and puppies is named in honor of Werling’s parents, Eddie and Patty Jones.
“My mom loved little dogs. She has always had a Chihuahua. If we have little dogs and puppies, they don’t do well with big dogs. This will be a quieter place for them,” Werling explained.
The shelter currently has 15 to 17 dogs available for adoption and 30 to 40 cats.
During the parade of residents to the new shelter, two more dog residents showed up. A man pulled up in a pickup truck with two Huskies he’d found.
Those dogs were all smiles as they lay in the kennels set aside for new arrivals, the first guests to use them.
“We never had any segregation like this before,” Werling said.
“Honestly, it was a run of 20 kennels — 10 and 10. They faced each other and you walked through the center. If a dog came in as a stray and they were sick, well, they would go in with the general population. We had no other place to put them. This gives us the ability to have so much flexibility.”
A dog assessment area will be where dogs receive behavior testing.
Every section of the shelter also has access to big water hose reels that can be used for easy cleanup.
There are also a lot of firsts in the shelter’s administrative wing, including a kitchenette for staff and volunteers, and lockers for personal belongings.
“They can bring their lunch. We have a refrigerator, microwave and coffeemaker. They can spend some time in here and away from everything else. It’s pretty quiet back here,” Werling said.
There is also an office for a future executive director, and a group office where three people could work and collaborate.
The last stop of the tour was the new education room that will be available to rent. The room is equipped with audio and visual equipment for large meetings or trainings. It can accommodate 20 people with chairs and tables available that can be moved around.
“Our hope is the community will be able to rent that out in the evening if need be and they can bring in food, cookies, drinks or whatever. They can prepare it in here (kitchenette) then go in there to have their meeting,” Werling said.
There are multiple fenced-in area for dogs to have playtime. One of them will include an agility course.
‘Dream come true’
For Werling, seeing the completion of this new state of the art facility is a dream come true.
“We have been working on the project for a very long time. It really takes a village,” she said.
The humane society worked with Strauser Construction of Bloomington on the build and Shelter Planners of America on the design. “It’s a dream team,” she said.
When building the new shelter, Werling said the humane society focused on improving the animals and their care, and thought about how they could help staff and volunteers support the organization.
“It’s just amazing,” said Brown County Commissioners President Jerry Pittman.
The commissioners contract with the humane society to house stray animals that are picked up by animal control.
“It is a great benefit to everyone in the county, whether you’re an animal owner or animal lover or not,” Pittman said.
“Because of the humane society, any strays that are picked up get well taken care of, and it relieves the county of having the responsibility of funding and maintaining a shelter for those animals, or building an expensive shelter.”
Completing this project is an example of “how far we’ve come” from how some people used to think of Brown County,” he added.
“Brown County has been innovating in a number of areas recently. Even though we’re a small county, we have had some fantastic developments here,” Pittman said. “This is a very good example of what can be done if the people of Brown County put themselves to a task.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Those who made the new shelter possible” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Lobby: Evan and Sue Ann Werling
Education Center: In memory of Claudia Davis
Medical Room: In memory of Dr. James Brester
Dog Kennels: In honor of Hannah and Hudson Hupfer
Cat Kennels: Rob and Nancy Coulter
Lobby Cat Community Room: In loving memory of Bo, Barney, Bernice, Belinda and Bernard
Cat Community Room 1: Jenny Johnson and Ruth Johnson
Cat Community Room 2: In loving memory of Precious and Snowball
Small Dog Kennels: In loving memory of Eddie and Patty Jones
Stray Dog Kennels: The Weatherford Family
Dog Assessment Room: Jim and Betsy More
Dog Get Acquainted Room: Ruth Johnson and Jenny Johnson
Cat Get Acquainted Room: The Imhoof Family
Cat Medical and Isolation Kennels: Marcia and Donald Moore
Dog Medical Kennels: In honor of Kelly, Jazz, Jessie and Woody
Manager Office: Howard Hughes Fund of Brown County Community Foundation
Executive Office: In honor of all the animals’ protectors
Group Office: Beverly Teach
Animal Kitchen: The Berck Family
Laundry Room: The Gregory Bennett Family
Food and Litter Storage: Bill and Mary Jo Conley
Housekeeping: Helen Wildermuth
Grooming: Janet K. Reynolds
Kitchenette: Paws Awhile
[sc:pullout-text-end]