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Wednesday, Oct. 01, 2008

Plans for Perry animal shelter move forward

PERRY -- In yet another testament to the impact of rising gas prices, the Perry Animal Shelter is finding it increasingly difficult to attract volunteers to keep animals or even travel to PetSmart in Warner Robins to assist with adoption days.

For a shelter that is proud of its 85 percent adoption rate of animals, that is a crucial element, said Davis Cosey, president of the Friends of Perry Animal Shelter.

"We need to build a new facility to keep our adoption rate up," Cosey said.

A new animal shelter has been on the minds of city officials and animal lovers in Perry for a while now. In a 2006 special purpose local option sales tax, $100,000 was allotted for construction of the new facility.

Now, there's a concept plan for that facility.

The City of Perry has teamed with the Friends of Perry Animal Shelter to create a state-of-the art facility that will focus on animal control, education and adoption.

The result is expected to be a 15,000-square-foot facility with a modular design that will provide space to separate healthy animals from sick animals and an area for adoption - a concept lacking in the present shelter. Perry's animal shelter now can accommodate 20 to 25 dogs. The new center will be able to handle about 70 dogs, Cosey said.

Cosey and his team have traveled throughout the state and to shelters in other parts of the country to determine what was needed in Perry.

"We wanted to make sure we build a safe, healthy, world-class animal shelter," Cosey said.

The animal shelter will be constructed on about three acres that has already been cleared behind the present Tucker Road shelter.

A police department-operated animal control facility would be combined with an adoption center run by Friends of Perry Animal Shelter to create a public-private partnership.

The city will be financially responsible for the animal control facility while Cosey and his organization will finance construction of the adoption area. The total project is expected to cost about $750,000.

The Friends of Perry Animal Shelter has raised $100,000, but as much of that money has gone to handling day-to-day needs of the shelter such as food and medications, the organization has $30,000 in the bank, Cosey said.

But with the conceptual design completed, Cosey said, they are putting themselves in a position that would allow them to apply for grants for the animal adoption center, which would have an adoption day every Saturday that its volunteers could easily attend.

For the local government's part, Mayor Jim Worrall said the city is awaiting approval from the Georgia Department of Transportation to construct an extension of Ball Street to where the animal shelter will be located. In 2001, the city requested $1.35 million from a special purpose local option sales tax be used for roads, including the extension of Ball Street.

Worrall said the road project requires that a bridge will be built to avoid disturbing natural wetlands.

"Right now, it would be kind of foolish to build it because we don't even have a road built," Worrall said.

The mayor said the city has yet to determine how much funding they will allocate for the animal control facility, but that the shelter is one of the city's top priorities.

"It's too small," Worrall said of the city's present shelter. "We've long since outgrown what we have."

To contact writer Natasha Smith, call 923-3109, extension 236.