The Lincoln County Humane Society is preparing to revamp the dog kennels at the Merrill animal shelter to comply with requirements of state “puppy mill” legislation.
“We have to make sure our kennels have the right square footage,” said shelter manager Liz Friedenfels.
The Humane Society is shooting for mid-May to start the project of demolishing the old kennels and replacing them with new, larger ones. With the larger kennels, but no increase in the size of the building, the shelter’s dog capacity will drop from 14 to 11.
“We’ll be looking for new ways to market our dogs and get them into homes that much faster,” Friedenfels said.
Volunteers will perform the demolition work and assemble the new kennels, which have already been ordered.
To comply with the state law, the kennel project needs to be done by mid-June.
The Humane Society will be looking to get all the animals out of the shelter during the demolition and construction project.
“We’re looking for temporary foster homes for 3-5 days,” Friedenfels said.
The Lincoln County Humane Society already has a roster of dedicated foster families. But, as the project coincides with spring kitten season, new foster families will be needed to empty the shelter during the project.
“We’d like to expand beyond our normal base,” Friedenfels said. “We’ve never had the need for this level of fostering. We will be looking to place about 40 cats and seven dogs.”
Anyone interested in fostering animals can stop in at the shelter, 200 N. Memorial Dr., Merrill, or call 715-536-3459.
The Lincoln County Humane Society is looking ahead to constructing a brand new building at its current location. The organization has about $70,000 in its building fund and needs to raise more before it can break ground, said Humane Society Board President Pat Hoerstmann. He said the construction project hasn’t been scheduled yet, but he’s hoping to see it get underway next spring.
The kennels being purchased now will be able to be moved to the new building, Friedenfels said.
“We don’t have enough money for the new building yet, but we need to renovate the dog room now,” she said.