Furry Animal Rescue Mission, the no-kill animal shelter in Bollinger County that opened in January, has seen significant expansion in recent months, according to Vanessa Murray, director and founder of the shelter.

Murray said she has increased the number of stalls at the shelter from six to 10 in a little over a month; the number of dogs housed at the shelter has increased from six to 15.

Murray said she has been able to undertake the expansion because of a steady increase in donations she has received. One woman persuaded her husband, an employee at Wal-Mart, to have the store donate all of its broken bags of dog food to the shelter, according to Murray.

Muray has also taken in thousands of dollars in monetary donations from large donors and checks mailed in.

On Friday, Pavestone Co. in Scott City presented Murray with a check for $4,000. Rex Livingston, general manager for Pavestone, said his company held an auction in June that 300 people attended. Roughly 5 percent of the proceeds went to Murray for use at the animal shelter. Pavestone will also provide the animal shelter with a new walkway.

Livingston said his company generally does not provide monetary donations, instead opting for donations of their products; but Livingston said he believed the animal shelter was a good cause that needed money and would put it to good use.

While donations and expansion have allowed Murray to shelter more dogs, she said another goal was to prepare dogs for adoption. In the last week, Murray has put up four dogs for adoption.

Murray has the dogs spayed or neutered and provides them with all necessary vaccinations. She requires adopting parents to pay a $100 fee, which she said lets her barely break even with those costs.

Going forward, Murray said she hopes to continue her expansion and eventually approach the Bollinger County Commission, detail her efforts of the last seven months and ask them for them county funding.

Murray, who is a volunteer and has no other job, opened the no-kill shelter in memory of her son. He died when he was 18 and was a lover of dogs.

tthomas@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 197

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