ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
The staff of the Liberal Animal Shelter has long lobbied for a special area at the shelter where its furry residents can spend some time running around and playing and late last week, that wish finally came true.
Last Friday afternoon, the Liberal Animal Shelter staff and the Liberal Rotary Club officially cut the ribbon on a new dog park area at the shelter. Liberal Rotary Club President Evangeline Penner and Liberal Animal Shelter Director Tara Logan said they were very excited to see the project come to fruition.
“Our projects start a year in advance, so it was this time last year when I started thinking about what I wanted our project to be during my term once I took office. I was looking for some particular needs in the community, and the Liberal Animal Shelter is really near and dear to me because it's where I adopted my pets from,” Penner said. “So I was wondering what was something the animal shelter needed, and I know it's been talked about for a long time having a play area or something similar outside where the dogs could run around and have some fun instead of just being in their kennels all day. We talked to Tara [Logan] and Chief Pinkston, and brainstormed about how we could make that work in terms of grants and City administration cooperation. And the staff at the animal shelter was great to work with since they're the ones with these animals day in and day out, so they shared a bunch of great ideas.”
“I was happy and amazed when the Rotary Club approached us about this project. Since I started as the shelter director a few years ago, I'd wanted to have an area here at the shelter where the dogs could get out and play and run around,” Logan added. “It's a great area, and I love how it's between our two buildings so there's no risk of any runaways or anything like that, especially since we're very close to the highway right here. As the employees of the shelter, our biggest concern is the animals' quality of life – sometimes, they're here for up to six months or maybe longer and don't get very much opportunity to be active. With the new play yard, they can run around and play, and there are multiple toys out there as well as a little pool where they can lay in and splash around in. Animals are about like children, they need space to run around and burn off some energy, and this new play area is perfect for that. It was about three or four weeks ago when the construction work got going. The crews came, leveled the ground out and installed the turf, and then they installed the fencing and everything else, and it was shortly after all of that when we started putting out the toys and everything else for the animals, and it was ready to go.”
After so much time and work, Logan and Penner said they are happy to see the park area up and officially installed.
“I'm very thankful, I couldn't be happier with how it all turned out,” Logan said.
“I would agree, I couldn't be happier for the animals having this area now,” Penner said. “It's also a great area for people to see their potential new pet's personality. I'm excited to see more photos of the animals having fun and being adopted and finding their forever home. For me, it was very easy to decide to work with the shelter. When we came and adopted our dog, she was in the back of her kennel shivering from anxiety, so the first weeks she was with us was spent helping her come out of her shell and helping her realize she was safe. We didn't have the chance to watch her be outside and run around and share her personality. As soon as I started thinking about what we could do, the animal shelter was basically at the top of my list, and I decided to just go for it.”
Logan said she hopes the park area will lead to an increase in adoptions and rescues.
“With the rescues, those animals are being adopted sight unseen, so videos and photos are very important to show the new pet parents the animal's personality and all of that,” Logan said. “A safe, fenced-in area where the animals can just be themselves is such a blessing, and I think that will help create an increase in adoptions and rescues. And again, having that area is good for the animals' overall well-being, because they're able to get out and exercise for a little while and play. There's a part of me that still can't believe we have this area now. We've wanted to have something like this for so long, and now that it's all installed and everything, we're all still blown away and can't believe we have it. The staff's been having so much fun playing with the animals and taking videos and photos and all of that.”
Overall, Logan and Penner said, they are very pleased with how the project turned out.
“Keep an eye on the Liberal Animal Shelter Facebook page, we're working on a new volunteer program where people can sign up to come and play with the animals in the play yard and spend some time with them,” Logan said.
“I can't say enough how much I appreciate everyone who helped make this happen, we're very excited this project has now been done, and I can't wait to see how it helps the shelter!” Penner added.
