A four-county animal shelter to serve Daviess, Clinton, Caldwell and DeKalb is closer to reality, according to Sue Manion, president of the newly formed 4 Paws, a Safehaven for Animals Shelter.
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Manion is the founder of Safehaven Animal Rescue. Safehaven cooperates closely with the Cameron Animal Shelter and other area rescue groups like Wayside Waifs to find homes for unwanted animals.
Safehaven has been a licensed rescue with the State of Missouri for 10 years. The original purpose was to adopt or move to larger shelters or rescues all adoptable animals at the Cameron City Shelter. Prior to Safehaven most all animals were euthanized that weren’t claimed. Safehaven is not a shelter and can’t take animals, but can try to help place them.
"The economy has done weird stuff," Manion said.
In years past donations averaged $4,000 to $6,000 a year. Currently donations are below $1,000. Those donations are used for vet bills and food.
The excess of animals along with the decrease in funding has made a four-county shelter her biggest goal.
"We need someplace counties can take their dogs," she said. "And not push the problem back on the citizens. This is everybody’s problem."
After six months in the process, the shelter recently received a 501 C-3 designation. It means money donated toward the shelter is tax deductible.
"We can start fund-raising, take donations, and apply for grants," said Manion.
The new shelter will rely on donations and grants for financing. The people will not be taxed.
A four-county board will oversee the operation of the shelter. After a resignation, there is no one from Daviess County on the board. The other members of the board are Teresa Gentry from DeKalb; Marsha Beckett from Clinton; Tracy Eversold from Caldwell; Dr. Mark Piland, Mary Tyrell and Manion.
"We need somebody on the board to represent Daviess County that loves animals and has the time," Manion said. "We have been in the talking mode. We’re getting closer to the talking and working mode."
Tevis Architects out of Kansas City have been contacted to do a feasibility study for the new shelter. The company has built facilities for Wayside Waifs, St Joseph Shelter, and Animal Haven, to name a few.
It may cost $500,000 to build the animal shelter, Manion said.
The land for the new shelter has not been identified yet, but several locations are being considered.
"The building committee will meet Wednesday June 30 with architects Terry Tevis to determine square footage for the shelter," Mrs. Manion said. "We will need room to grow; we don’t want to be boxed in."
The feasability study will show how many animals can be expected from all four counties.
"I wouldn’t be surprised if it runs into the several hundreds at any given time," Manion said.
City and counties will pay a per-head fee for animals housed. Actual amount will be determined later, but Manion thought it would probably run around $30 to $35; however, she estimates the cost per animal to keep at the no-kill shelter at $250. That’s by the time an animal is spayed or neutered, given its shots and housed.
The four-county operation will not provide animal control for the counties, only shelter. Five to 10 days are allowed for owners to claim pets before putting them up for adoption, according to state laws.
"It’s been my experience to start work on adopting the minute we get the animals in," she said. "Very few people will come in to pick them up. If we can’t adopt them, we try to find someplace else that can."
This is done mostly through computer networking, working with animal rescues all across the United States. Every breed of dog has a rescue dedicated to it.
"If it’s a lab mix, we’ll call it a lab. We’ll get hold of a lab rescue and see if there’s anybody that can help. The network is unbelievable."
Once 4 Paws is off the ground, Cameron won’t operate a city pound. Manion’s SafeHaven Animal Rescue will also close and be rolled into 4 Paws.
The actual construction of the facility will begin when the money is available.
Donations are needed.
"It will take a lot of people to support us," Manion said. "And we’re hoping for a lot of volunteers to serve on committees. The smallest donation is appreciated — $2.50 will buy shots. The smallest amount matters, it truly does."
In the meantime, the shelter runs on the goodness of people and hope.
"Every day spent waiting is something that’s not getting taken care of," Manion said. "We need people who can help get this thing going. I can get emotional about this. Lives are at stake. The new shelter will literally save the lives of thousands of animals."
For information or to donate money or volunteer to help, contact Sue Manion at [email protected] or 816-632-7989.