And cats, and rabbits, and guinea pigs, birds, ferrets, gerbils, even rats and mice!
The Idaho Humane Society Animal Welfare Campus is opening soon! (October 2019) The long-awaited facility will transform the shelter experience for both animals and people. Sophisticated engineering and materials paired with best practices in shelter design have created a safe, healthy, clean and light-filled environment.
Nearly 12,000 animals were received by the Idaho Humane Society last year. The new facility will allow the IHS to provide even better care to these animals through some wonderful features.
Cat Colonies and Catios. A cat colony is a full-sized room big enough to house several cats or kittens together in a more home-like space with room to run and places to sleep and retreat. A catio is a screened-in patio accessible from the colony room. Cats can be outside, see trees and maybe birds from the safety of a covered and screened outdoor space.
Catios at Idaho Humane Society (IHS) Animal Welfare Campus
Dog pods with more space per dog and fewer dogs sheltered close together. Kennels are often so noisy because the dogs are stressed and there are no acoustical provisions. In the new IHS Shelter, pods will each hold five dogs with more space and natural light than in the old facility. Small groups allow shelter staff to group dogs in many ways, from age to size to activity level.
Animal friendly hospital. The larger and more efficiently designed clinic and hospital offer new benefits. Dogs and cats are cared for separately. More exam rooms will reduce stress on the animals, especially other small mammals. A separate dental clinic allows staff to leave equipment in place for repeat use. And finally, the new ‘Pack Room’, often staffed by dedicated volunteers, is both efficient and light-filled. A pack room is where volunteers and staff take materials and implements from exam and surgery rooms to be cleaned, sanitized or disposed of. Clean and sanitary materials are then re-packed for the next use. The new pack room is immediately adjacent to the surgery with pass-through windows for easy transfer in and out.
As of this writing (9.26.19), the shelter hopes to open to the public the first week of October. Stay tuned and plan to visit this wonderful community amenity!