Humane Society ICU nears installation; agency pares back other expansion plans

Slowly but surely, changes are happening at the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri.

Charlotte Craig, president of the not-for-profit agency’s board of directors and a longtime volunteer, said a new, standalone intensive-care unit is finished being built by construction-management students at Southeast Missouri State University and should be delivered and installed in four to six weeks.

The 12-by-32-foot structure will add 360 square feet to the operation after a concrete pad is poured on the Humane Society’s property off Boutin Drive in Cape Girardeau. Then, plumbing and electrical work will need to be completed to get it up and running.

“It will make a huge difference in our lives,” Craig said.

The existing building’s intensive-care area is right behind a small room where cats are housed. It’s tiny, cramped and not suitable for treating large dogs.

Katya, a 5-month-old Siamese mix, looks out from an enclosure Thursday at the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri.Glenn Landberg

The agency is moving toward another addition, but the planning is being revisited to reduce costs.

Before a fundraising campaign began in the winter, board and staff members envisioned a new, 6,000-square-foot building with rooms where people could spend time with animals they planned to adopt, along with many other amenities and improvements. Employees developed a wish list based on all the things they would like to see for the shelter.

But after raising about $200,000 between December and February, it became clear some things would have to be prioritized.

“Preliminary plans based on the wish list were more than we were ready to spend,” Craig said. They’re asking the question, “What can we keep, and what can we not keep?”

Originally, the expectation was to have the new structure finished before the end of the year.

It’s more likely, however, to be finished sometime around the spring of 2017.

Craig said all told, the Humane Society will need between $400,000 and $500,000 to get the project done, plus securing donations of kennels and furnishings and finding ways to cover the cost of caring for more animals, adding more staff and paying higher utilities.

The Humane Society cares for 50 to 70 dogs at any given time, along with up to 30 cats. Adding a new space could double those numbers, Craig said.

When complete, the building will be added to the agency’s existing building. It will house all adoptable animals, with the old space being used for intake and to house animals not ready for adoption.

Ultimately, the goal is for the Humane Society to become a no-kill shelter; in one respect it already is, Craig said.

In the first quarter of 2016, the adoption rate for dogs was 93 percent. In all of 2015, it was 83 percent.

Only dogs that were vicious, too ill to treat or too old to function were euthanized.

But because space at the existing building is limited, strays can be kept only for five days.

Additional space will allow animals to be kept longer so they have a greater chance of being adopted, she said.

ljones@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3652

Pertinent address:

2563 Boutin Drive, Cape Girardeau, Mo.

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National Clear the Shelters Day

In conjunction with National Clear the Shelters Day on Saturday, the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri will offer extended hours and discounted adoption fees. The shelter will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., with adoption discounts still being determined. For more information, call (573) 334-5837.