New animal shelter to open

MAT-SU -- Within the next few months, the shelter that formerly housed the Big Lake Humane Society will once again be filled with the sounds of dogs ready to be adopted.

Vicki Wallner, president of Alaska Dog and Puppy Rescue, said her organization has signed a year lease with TGI Funding LLC. to use the shelter located in Big Lake and its surrounding acreage.

Chris Elder with TGI Funding said the rescue group seemed a good fit for the property.

"It's built to be an animal shelter," Elder said.

The 5,000-square-foot building sits on several acres and Wallner said she believes it'll be a good shelter area, although there's much work to be done before the shelter gets up and running.

ADPR is currently in the process of obtaining its 501(c)3 nonprofit status from the federal government. Meanwhile, they're trying to determine the best way to proceed with the work that needs to be done at the shelter. The building was gutted and, before much is done, Wallner said, the floors must be sanitized and resealed. New kennels are needed, along with new fencing around the property to provide outdoor exercise space and extensive work on heating system. New paint is needed, Wallner said, along with desks, chairs and other furnishings.

"We don't have desks, we don't have anything," Wallner said.

But they're working toward obtaining all those things, she said, and they hope to have at least some kennels available by the end of September.

Wallner said ADPR was formerly part of a larger rescue operation that placed dogs whose time at the borough shelter had run out. About 54 foster families make up the group, she said, and they decided to branch off from the other group and seek nonprofit status. Many of the group members have been fostering rescued dogs for three or more years.

Wallner became president of the group in July, with the stipulation that she'd serve a one-year term. Along with that agreement, she said, the group developed a set of goals, one of which included having a shelter within a year's time.

Not long after those goals were set, Elder contacted Brandi Prys, an ADPR member about the possibility of leasing the shelter space. It was a coincidence, Elder said, because Prys happened to be someone who had picked up his lost dog not long before. Her help -- and knowledge about who's who in the Valley dog world -- struck a chord.

"I kind of have a soft spot for that sort of thing," Elder said, noting that he grew up around hunting clubs in an area where dogs were a big part of outdoor life. "It just so happened I was looking for somebody to use that place."

Wallner said she was surprised when Elder contacted her about leasing the shelter, but she and ADPR members felt they should grab the opportunity when it was available.

"It was just one of those God things that just -- there it is," Wallner said. "It may take us a little longer to get going now than it would [if we were to open the shelter] a year from now, because we'd have things more financially in place. But everything, since I took over on the group here -- it's just been overwhelming, the response."

Wallner said she's been busily researching shelter operations online and will be attending an animal control conference in Seward later this year. She's planning a trip to the well-known Best Friends animal sanctuary in Utah to ask questions and learn how ADPR can work with rescued dogs to smooth out behavioral problems that often surface as a result of being kenneled with little time for play or from being abandoned. She's also working closely with Alaska animal groups, such as the Alaska Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, to learn more about the tasks ahead. One benefit, she said, is that her group of volunteers is both dedicated and skilled.

"One person has a lot of experience in sanitation and hygiene -- she may be the shelter manager," Wallner said. "Everybody in our group has experience in a different area."

Although Mat-Su Borough Chief ACR Officer Dave Allison said he hasn't spoken with Wallner about the shelter yet, they have discussed, at length, the group's rescue efforts. Partly as a result of that discussion, he said, the borough's ACR board is working on changes to Title 24 that would legitimize and establish procedures for rescue groups. The new wording, he said, would outline sanitation and feeding issues and other things that come into play when groups offer animals for sale.

"We're trying to set up some governance -- nothing's set in stone at this point," Allison said. "We're looking at working with the entity and working with the borough to try and bring the borough's Title 24 to a workable standard. That, again, is really through regulation and making sure we all have a plan as to the betterment of the community and animals at heart. When the borough sets up the playing field rules, we need to make sure organizations are playing fairly by those rules."

Having a background in dog breeding herself, Wallner said she knows how much work running a kennel can be. Her parents bred and raised greyhounds, she said, and it was a full-time job for the whole family.

One of the biggest issues surrounding the shelter's success is money, and Wallner said she's confident they'll be able to find what's needed. Adoptions and donations, she said, will make up the majority of the shelter's operating budget and the group plans to keep the overhead as low as possible during the first few months.

"We hope, at some point by the end of the year, to have a couple paid positions," Wallner said. "But right now, everybody's volunteer. I never cease to be amazed with the volunteers in this program and what they're capable of."

After providing a sort of relief valve for the adoptable pets who've run out of time at the Mat-Su Animal Care and Regulation shelter, Wallner said the shelter's first priority will be to take in dogs who are in eminent danger. If there's still space, Wallner said, they'll take in dogs from the general public, but they plan to offer assistance to people seeking to place their dogs. What they don't want, she said, is what happened previously at the shelter, with people tying animals to the fence at the shelter to avoid taking it the borough's shelter.

"They'd come in the mornings and have dogs tied to the gate," Wallner said. "We're going to put up a sign saying just because you leave dogs here doesn't mean it won't go to animal control. We're really going to encourage the public to find homes for their own dogs."

Although there's a lot of work to do before the shelter opens, Wallner said her volunteers are ready to take the task on.

"We're all so excited -- we can't get it going fast enough," she said.

For more information about the rescue group or to get involved, contact ADPR at 745-7030.