Animal Haven gains breathing space with new lost pet center

Kansas City Star

March 14, 2008

There used to be a lot of cats in this room.

Most days, each of the metal cages stacked against the wall in Animal Haven's backroom would hold a stray cat.

'The cats were stressed out,' said Laura Smith, the operations manager at Animal Haven, an animal shelter in Merriam. 'It was all crammed.'

But on Wednesday afternoon, a lone orange and gray cat was the sole occupant of the room. Across the shelter, metal cages meant for other dogs and cats sat empty. For Smith, the animal shelter hasn't been this vacant for more than two years.

Animal Haven opened its new lost pet center this past week, helping to free up room at Animal Haven's main building.

The lost pet center is in rented warehouse space at the southwest corner of 67th Street and Interstate 35, just south of Animal Haven's main building.

Stray dogs and cats from 11 different cities in Johnson County will now be transferred to the lost pet center, where they can be claimed by their owners. If the animal is not claimed in five to seven days, the pet will be moved to Animal Haven's main building and put up for adoption.

Animal Haven, a low-kill shelter, decided to move the lost pet center from its main building because of the overcrowding there. Since the summer of 2006, the number of pets at the shelter has far surpassed the 150-animal capacity, reaching to about 220 to 250 animals.

With the opening of the lost pet center, Animal Haven is already starting to see positive changes to its operations.

Brendan Wiley, Animal Haven's executive director, said by having the new center stationed away from the main building, potentially sick stray animals entering the shelter will be separated from the healthy adoptable pets. The new center is expected to hold up to more than 90 stray cats and dogs.

The additional space will also allow staff at the main building to segregate animals with different conditions.

'Previously, our sick-animal area was either mixed in with our stray population or was kind of in the back row of our communal adoptable (pets),' Wiley said.

Fees from cities transferring stray animals to the shelter are paying for the costs of the new space. It's expected to raise Animal Haven's operating budget by 3 percent to 5 percent. For 2008, that budget is projected to be at $1 million.

The extra space, however, isn't the only reason for the vacancies at Animal Haven's main building.

As of Wednesday, the shelter had only about 65 dogs and 40 cats. Wiley said the low numbers result from high pet adoptions, which have risen by 24 percent since the start of the year. Just last week, of the about 50 stray animals that came into the shelter, 21 were reclaimed by their owners.

'We are at a nice transition point where we are focusing on keeping up with the momentum,' Wiley said.

But Wiley expects to see their pet numbers rise over the course of the year. Historically, the shelter is the fullest during the summer.

Wiley added that the new center only provides Animal Haven with about half the space the shelter projects it will need. With Animal Haven's main building more than 40 years old, the shelter hopes to break ground on a new $3.8 million building in 2010. So far $500,000 has been raised.

Ralph McMurray, president of the board of directors for Animal Haven, said that with adoptions up, it's an exciting time for the shelter.

'A lot of people don't know where to look for their dog and cat,' he said. 'But now we are starting to find those homes.'

Strays come from many cities

Which jurisdictions send strays to Animal Haven?

They include Merriam, Lenexa, Overland Park, Lake Quivira, Shawnee, the Johnson County Parks and Recreation Department, and the Northeast Animal Control Commission, which serves Mission, Westwood, Fairway, Westwood Hills, Roeland Park and Mission Woods.

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