Community leaders break ground on new, much-needed Blackfoot Animal Shelter

BLACKFOOT — A long-awaited and much-needed installation is coming to Blackfoot.

Leaders successful nan Blackfoot organization joined pinch Blackfoot Animal Shelter and Rescue Thursday for a groundbreaking ceremonial of a caller animal shelter that will switch nan existing facility.

“We put a batch of our blood, sweat and tears into this and waited for this to go a reality,” said Amanda Cevering, nan head of nan Blackfoot Animal Shelter.

The existing animal shelter has been successful usage for complete 20 years, and has deteriorated truthful overmuch to nan constituent wherever a caller building makes nan astir sense.

“The shelter is very dilapidated, and needs a batch of repair, and nan repair would costs much than a caller building,” Cevering said successful an question and reply pinch EastIdahoNews.com.

RELATED | Surge successful adoptions saves dozens of dogs from euthanization astatine Blackfoot Animal Shelter

On apical of that, there’s not capable abstraction for a quarantine area for caller animals and nary method to forestall nan dispersed of illness among nan population. There’s besides nary designated area for volunteers and nary area for nan prospective pet owners to prosecute pinch an animal they mightiness adopt.

The existent shelter, located astatine 199 Frontage Road, is only 1,600 quadrate feet and often has to run astatine supra nan building’s afloat capacity. The caller shelter, to beryllium built astatine 2397 Teeples Drive, will connection 5,500 quadrate feet erstwhile it’s finished, which is much than double nan size of nan original.

Amanda Cevering (second to nan left) stands alongside nan Blackfoot Animal Shelter and Rescue board. | Logan Ramsey, EastIdahoNews.com

Rather than beryllium tally by nan city, nan shelter is ran by Blackfoot Animal Shelter and Rescue, a non-profit organization. As a 501(c)(3) organization, nan shelter could perchance person grants that a metropolis installation couldn’t receive. According to Mayor Marc Carroll, this is why erstwhile Mayor Paul Loomis and nan metropolis assembly astatine nan clip turned it into a non-profit successful 2017.

“They (would be) free to get each this money rolling in. It ne'er happened,” Carroll said successful an question and reply pinch EastIdahoNews.com.

And successful nan meantime, nan shelter deteriorated and continued to not meet nan demands of nan community.

RELATED | Many Idaho animal shelters are operating astatine afloat capacity

In past year’s budget, Blackfoot had a small complete a cardinal dollar nether tally successful nan metropolis budget. When trying to determine wherever these costs should go, Carroll decided that nan animal shelter had to beryllium made a priority.

Carroll brought it guardant arsenic an action point to put $500,000 towards nan caller animal shelter astatine nan February metropolis assembly meeting. The assembly voted to o.k. nan backing unanimously.

“Usually erstwhile we’re talking astir an unbudgeted expenditure, there’s bully chat backmost and forth,” Carroll said. “The 4 assembly members were unanimous, ‘Yes, we request to do this’.”

The remainder of nan costs received for nan shelter has travel from a assortment of sources, notably from Blackfoot businesses Premier Technology and Spudnik Equipment Company.

While nan costs nan metropolis provided will beryllium capable to build nan building, nan shelter is still looking for donations to afloat banal it’s interior. Cevering said nan building would person a philanthropist wall erstwhile it’s completed.

Once completed, Cevering said nan caller building will beryllium capable to clasp much animals, and springiness them a amended expertise to meet nan community’s need. The shelter will beryllium capable to return successful much stray and mislaid animals, and past clasp them for longer while they activity due homes aliases return them to their owner.

“The dogs will emotion it. I’m judge that their affectional authorities will beryllium better. I cognize ours will,” Cevering said.

Carroll said that he hasn’t heard antagonistic feedback from nan organization connected nan caller shelter.

“When I tally into group astatine Walmart aliases retired connected nan street, invariably, they’ll say, ‘Hey, that’s a bully thought connected nan shelter. We’ve needed it for a agelong time’,” Carroll said.

The target extremity day for nan completion of nan installation is successful September, and nan city’s contractor hopes to commencement sometime successful June aliases July.

For group who want to donate money towards nan completion of nan building’s interior, they tin donate to nan shelter connected it’s Facebook page, website aliases they tin donate successful person.

Cevering is thankful for anyone who donates to nan shelter.

“Thank you doesn’t look for illustration enough. Our sponsors person gone supra and beyond to thief america and they proceed to do so,” Cevering said. “We are conscionable highly grateful for that. We couldn’t do it without everybody.”