Reigning cats and dogs

HAYDEN — The wait is over.

Kootenai Humane Society will break ground on its new home at 12575 N. Atlas Road on Tuesday.

"We are excited to share this milestone with our staff, volunteers, donors and the community," said Debbie Jeffrey, KHS executive director.

The project has been years of working, planning, fundraising and hoping for the day that’s finally here.

The public is welcome to watch the trucks start rolling at 2 p.m.

“The time is now to make our new community animal center a reality,” Jeffrey said.

Cindy Edington, KHS board president, said it felt wonderful to know ground work on the new shelter is about to begin. It will be on a 10-acre parcel west of the Coeur d'Alene Airport.

“We’re pretty excited, obviously,” she said Friday.

But the board had to make some tough decisions on the original $6.5 million project, with that estimate done four years ago.

Since then, the price tag for the 24,000-square-foot building has risen due to material costs.

In response, the board reviewed finances. It considered reducing the scope of the building, seeking bank loans and ramping up fundraising even more.

KHS has raised $5.3 million, 81% of its goal.

Edington said the board agreed to modify the size of the building by about 3,000 square feet.

“A little bit smaller footprint,” she said.

That will eliminate a few things, including an isolation room, cat room and a dog kennel area. But those could be added back if funds become available.

Even with those reductions, the new shelter will be a huge improvement.

“We want to be sure the building size will be what we need,” she said.

Edington said the board decided against bank loans.

“Borrowing money is not what we want to do,” she said.

Young Construction Group of Idaho, Inc. is the project’s general contractor. The new shelter could take up to 18 months to complete, but it could be done much sooner, Edington said.

“We’re hoping to be in by this time next year,” she said.

Vicky Nelson, KHS development director, said they have to move the shelter due to planned expansion of the Coeur d’Alene Airport and future extension of Ramsey Road. Both developments include the KHS property at the north end of Ramsey Road.

KHS leases the land from the Coeur d’Alene Airport.

The no-kill shelter's current home is more than 40 years old and is too small for the nonprofit’s needs to care for the many dogs and cats that pass through its doors.

So far this year it has adopted out 1,341 animals and has a 95% save rate.

Edington has been on the board nearly 10 years. Groundbreaking on the new shelter is “almost a little bit unreal,” she said.

But it’s definitely overdue.

She said there are thousands of dogs and cats that suffer trauma and need help, homes and loving owners.

She recalled years ago seeing an older, beat up dog in a kennel. It looked defeated. She found out later the dog had been found in the woods and brought to KHS.

Someone abandoned it, Edington said.

“It just broke my heart. Bring them to us. Let us find them a home.”

“That’s what drives us,” she added.