Elkhart Humane Society hosts open house for new facility
BRISTOL, Ind. -
The Humane Society of Elkhart has been working out of its new facility for about a month, and the shelter wants the public to come see the new improvements during an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Anne Reel, Executive Director, stated “The shelter team is excited about the new location and its capacity to better serve the overall needs of the thousands of animals received each year. Last year the Humane Society admitted over 4,400 animals which included 53 different species. Our old facility created challenges which heightened stress levels and behavioral issues as well as recuperation success when dealing with illnesses and injuries.”
Just in a month, the shelter says there is already a difference in the stress of the animals.
"In the old shelter the dogs and cats were housed really close to each other so they continually heard barking and were stressed all the time," said Executive Assistant Janet Graham. "These cats are a lot calmer. The dogs are a lot calmer not staring at each other and barking and growling."
The new facility will also have a clinic that will serve shelter animals and in the future, will provide educational opportunities for veterinarian interns. Kim Welch, Co-Chair of the capital campaign indicated, “We really want this facility to be a place of learning and are excited about being able to fully serve our animals while training other vet interns about shelter medicine. However, our current priority is serving the animals in our care.”
The shelter has hired local veterinarian Dr. Kari Kryder as the shelter's veterinarian.
"She has a lot of experience in shelter medicine, so she will be able to do spays and neuters here," said Graham. "So the animals wont be getting moved to a vet office or moved to a different kennel to recuperate. Everything is going to be done at this facility."
The open house is a way to educate the public about what all happens at the shelter.
“It will be a wonderful opportunity for us to not only showcase the new building but to help educate regarding the full scope of the shelter’s work,” said Reel.
Although the shelter is not open to handle adoptions during the open house, visitors can still see all the animals. All adoptable animals are also online and can be found here.