Human Society celebrates success
The Cache Humane Society has met its challenge grant from the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation to provide funding for the first, full-service animal shelter in the Cache Valley.
After three decades of volunteer efforts, the shelter is becoming a reality for the valley, said Lee Austin, president of the CHS board. During a benefit dinner at Zanavoo Lodge in Logan Canyon Friday night, Austin announced to the attendees that CHS had surpassed its goal of $70,000 and will try and present the money to the Eccles Foundation next week.
“We think we’ve made it, and hang in for an announcement very soon,” Austin said.
The Eccles Foundation has offered $100,000 in a challenge grant for the completion of the animal shelter, said Ron Thorkildsen, vice president of the CHS board and author of the grant proposal to the Eccles Foundation. Construction on the shelter began in 2003, Austin said. It is located on Valley View Highway.
Receiving the grant from the foundation was contingent upon the CHS raising $70,000 by a Dec. 1 deadline, he said. There is also a Cache Valley family, who wishes to remain anonymous, which offered $30,000 for the shelter based on the same stipulation, Thorkildsen said.
“I think that is a good thing, it gave us something very concrete to take to other [contributors],” said Thorkildsen.
The valley has never had an animal shelter open to the public, said Norma Barringer, resident who helps foster stray animals. In the past, the only means of sheltering animals where through fosters, individuals who take in animals till they can be adopted out, or through Four Paws Rescue, she said.
“I think it is something that should have been done years ago,” said Hank Schilber, pet owner and attendee at the benefit dinner. “Logan really is a cultural center of Northern Utah, and [doesn’t have an] enlightened enough mentality to have a shelter.”
CHS has been working for decades to bring a shelter to the valley, Thorkildsen said, but needs for funding elsewhere have delayed the process.
“We’ve been working really hard all that time, it’s been really slow to come,” he said.
CHS provides other services including spay and neutering programs, taking care and adopting out animals and providing rabies and vaccinations, Thorkildsen said, which has slowed the process of building a shelter.
The benefit dinner sold out at near 100 people, with some who had been turned away still purchasing the $50 dinner ticket to support the project.
The dinner consisted of a silent auction, live music by the Willow Valley String Band, door prizes and an update on the shelter project.
“This is a wonderful turnout, this is fabulous,” Austin said in the middle of the evening. “There are a lot of people of in the valley doing tremendous things [for the animals in the valley].”
Don Barringer has helped curb the cost of the shelter by donating his time, free of charge, to be the project contractor, Austin said.
“They just needed somebody to step up and do the construction part,” Don said.
The building has cost about $85,000 so far, Don said, but the work done and materials used are worth $160,000.
Many of the donations have been in kind, where individuals donate their time or materials to help, he said. Because of the help from the community, the shelter will be built for less than $300,000, Don said, but they will have a $600,000 to $700,000 facility available to them.
Don said he hopes with the shelter in place, it will help educate the youth and general public about the responsibilities that face pet owners.
During the dinner, Austin said he appreciated Norma’s dedication and love for helping shelter animals found.
“We need more people to do this kind of work, whether it is for us or someone else,” he said.
Austin said the shell of the building is completed with construction focusing on the interior of the facility.
Even with the grant soon in hand, Austin said CHS will continue fund raising since certain aspects of the project have higher costs than previously projected.
“We’re going to be fund raising some more,” he said. “I hope the fact that we have apparently met the goal doesn’t [stop people from donating].”
-kcashton@cc.usu.edu
Guests Mingle at the Cache Human Society benefit dinner Friday night at the Zanavoo Lodge. The funds raised will benefit the building of a full-service animal shelter in Cache Valley. (Photo by Michael Sharp)