Animal shelter needs donations

Cat litter, pet food, supplies sought

Sunday November 16, 2003

By Julie Landry Laviolette
St. Bernard/Plaquemines bureau

The St. Bernard Animal Control Shelter could use a helping hand to expand its operations and make things a bit nicer for the animals.

Donations of pet necessities including dog and cat food, cat litter and other supplies, such as cleaning solvents and towels, will allow the shelter to use its limited finances on materials such as equipment and tools, said Ceily Trog, director of the shelter.

The shelter also could use donations of pet medications, office supplies, cat and dog treats and pet toys -- in short, anything needed to run a shelter, Trog said.

"Anytime we get anything donated, it helps us save resource funds to pay for equipment for the shelter or for tools for the animal-control officers," she said.

The parish recently broke ground on a Paris Road site for a new animal shelter, which may have its first phase completed by next year.

When entirely built, the new facility will have about 10,000 square feet of space, about five times the current size. The new shelter will have 60 cat cages, compared to the current 24, and 40 dog runs, compared to 16.

"It will be a community center, not just a pound or a shelter, and we'll have a meeting room and can offer programs like behavior classes," Trog said.

The council dedicated about $300,000 to the project, and the parish has been promised a $200,000 private donation from a deceased local resident's estate.

After the initial phase of construction, there will still be much work to do. For example, the first phase will not include amenities such as a special exercise yard for the animals and covered area for the operation's equipment.

But, if the parish can get donations from the community, the goal is to add facilities for vaccinations, spaying, neutering, and cremating animals.

"The funds for the first phase have been allocated," Trog said. "The second and third phases will add more space, and with a new shelter and more space, we can have new programs."

One program Trog said she would like to expand is foster families, in which families take in a newborn pet that might have trouble surviving at the shelter because of health risks.

"In the shelter they're exposed to everything," Trog said. "We need homes to put them in until they're old enough to adopt out."

Adding more space also means more adoptable animals will be sheltered rather than euthanized.

"Our goal is a zero euthanasia rate of adoptable pets," Trog said.

Monetary donations are welcome for the building fund and the Friends of the Animal Shelter's Build a Better Shelter Fund, which will pay for amenities such as a surgery room.

"If the community cares, this will be built," Trog said. "If the community doesn't care, it won't be built."

For more information, or to make a donation, call Trog at 278-1535.