Humane Society reaches milestone with new shelter

When plans were announced by the Yuma County Human Society six years ago to build a larger and improved animal shelter, many welcomed the news. It was agreed a replacement for the crowded and out-of-date facility in use at the time was needed.

Now it is a reality – although the effort took longer than many had perhaps hoped. The new shelter is scheduled to open Tuesday.

It is significantly larger than the old one, more than twice as large, in fact. The extra space has been badly needed. As the community has grown, so has the number of stray animals and animals turned in to be adopted out.

The facilities at the old shelter were insufficient not only in terms of size but also from a health standpoint. Animals could not be properly segregated to prevent the spread of disease and there was not an area that presented a pleasant atmosphere for potential adopters to interact with animals awaiting selection.

That will now change. There will be exercise and training areas, indoor and outdoor kennel areas and a more healthy and pleasant environment. It will benefit not only the animals, but also those who work or visit there.

A notable thing is that the effort has been funded through private donations, beginning with the donation of the land for it by the Curtis family and Sam Perricone. Even as fund-raising efforts continued toward the $3 million goal, ground was broken for the facility in 2010. Its completion marks a major milestone.

Unfortunately, much remains to be done in terms of fund-raising to repay a loan taken out to finish the project. About $1 million still must be raised.

We hope animal lovers and others will continue to step up to make the needed donations to complete this effort, just as they have done for the past six years.