At last, a home for Humane Society

Brown County

Humane Society plans to remodel building in New Ulm

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- For the first time in its history, the Brown County Humane Society, like many of the dogs and cats it has found homes for over the years, will finally have a place to call home.

The society recently bought a building at 1301 S. Valley Street in New Ulm after much consideration.

Members plan to turn the former Fastenal Company property into a central location where the society will house its offices, hold its meetings, offer public education classes and provide shelter for dogs, cats, ferrets, gerbils, snakes, birds and horses it helps to find homes.

"It just became more and more apparent over the last five years for sure, but five years and the process of getting enough money raised to find a shelter that meets city codes," said BCHS president Dale Hartman.

A lot of groundwork had to take place before the building could open. Hartman said BCHS originally bought the land behind the old Fastenal building with the idea of building its own space from scratch.

Then Fastenal Company decided to move up to South Broadway this fall. During the planning process, the Humane Society's board of directors compared the cost of a new building against the cost of remodeling the Fastenal building and voted in favor of remodeling.

"We compared the costs of a new building versus modifying and in price comparison, there was no question about which one the board wanted to go it," Hartman said. "The only apprehension we have is we're going to have to do lots of the construction work ourselves."

The remodeling will likely come in stages. It make take a few months or a few years for the society to bring the building up to plans. Hartman said the space is going to have in between 8-15 dog kennels, two rooms for cat kennels and a play area, an isolation room for sick animals as well as a conference room, a lobby and storage. One possible future idea would be a fenced-in area for walking dogs.

The Brown County Humane Society adopts in between 200 to 300 animals a year, Hartman estimates. He said the society adopts out most of the dogs, cats and other animals it receives except when an animal is too sick to be adopted, in which case it is euthanized.

The society deals mostly with large dogs and cats. It gets most of the animals it adopts from city pounds in New Ulm, Sleepy Eye and Springfield and from owners who choose to surrender their pets. The society mainly serves Brown County.

Remodeling will start this month.

"This is a huge step," he said. "This has been something that has gone from a P.O. box and a voice mail to having a physical building that people can walk into and say 'This is the Brown County Humane Society'," Hartman said.

Throughout its history, the society has never had a shelter before now, Hartman said. It currently uses a network of anywhere between 8-10 foster homes to care for the animals it receives.

Hartman said the society probably won't stop using the foster homes after the shelter opens because the families help train and socialize the animals before they are adopted.

But those home will be used less often once the shelter opens. Right now, when someone contacts the Brown County Humane Society looking for a cat, the society's adoption agents have to call the houses that are taking care of cats and arrange schedules for the families to bring the animals in for viewing. Hartman said the building will provide a central location for prospective owners and foster homes to meet during viewing hours.

The society is also planning a capital campaign for 2004. Hartman said it hopes to raise about $100,000 to defer the cost of the building, the remodeling and veterinary services.

He said the society also hopes the greater visibility will help to attract more members and more volunteers.

"I think it shows we're growing in that we have a lot of support from community members," Hartman said.

The society can be contacted at :www.brownchumanes.org or (507) 359-2312.