Humane home

Jay County Humane Society has opened its new facility’s doors to the public.

The organization recently started welcoming community members into its new building at 1376 W. Votaw St., Portland. 

So far, the new location has helped to spur more adoptions than the organization had seen in a long time. In the first few days of December alone, seven animals found new homes. In another recent week, nine animals moved in with new families.

“We’ve adopted out many more animals just in the past three weeks,” said Jay County Humane Society consultant Linda Conn. “We’re so happy, really, that the animals in most likelihood won’t have to stay as long in the kennel.”

Jay County Humane Society bought the former Fastenal building along Indiana 67 on the western edge of Portland in 2022, raising at least $1 million toward its purchase and renovation costs. Jay County officials also contributed $275,000 toward the project originally priced at about $1.2 million for land acquisition, construction and other fees.

It’s a step up from the former site on Shadeland Avenue, which featured 12 dog kennels and a small area for cat cages in a 1,000-square-foot space with less than 600 square feet of exterior kennel space. Overcrowding as well as safety concerns — visitors entering the building immediately walked through a hallway attached to the kennels — led the organization to pursue a new space.

The facility on Votaw Street is sectioned into spaces for humans, dogs and cats, per the current standard for animal shelters. It boasts two free-roaming cat rooms as well as a large room for cat cages, nearly 40 kennels with additional inside and outside space for dogs, a kitchen to prepare animals’ meals, a sally port for transporting and receiving animals, two intake rooms for new animals before their veterinarian checks, a medical room for sick animals or those recovering from surgery, a lobby area, a meet and greet room, a break room for staff and another room that will likely be used for board meetings.

There’s also about 3 acres of land north of the facility that is regularly used by volunteers while walking dogs. Jay County Humane Society treasurer Mindy Weaver noted plans to periodically put in more fencing outside, with a goal to eventually fence in the whole lot.

With construction on the building completed, volunteers relocated all cats to the new building in October. They’ve been slowly moving dogs — about two or three each trip — as they’ve transitioned into the new facility and plan to have all animals at the Votaw Street location within the next month. (Currently, volunteers visit the Shadeland Avenue building each day to take care of the remaining handful of dogs.)

As for the former building, Jay County Humane Society will work with the City of Portland and its adjacent wastewater treatment plant to figure out what comes next.

The new, larger facility will help with the organization’s animal control duties. Jay County Humane Society started providing animal control to the county and Portland in January 2021 following the retirement of Bill and Kathy Fields, former animal control officers. (Midwest Pet Refuge also provided animal control services alongside the organization for a period of time.)

In October, Jay County officials signed a formal one-year service agreement with the organization for $66,325. (Previously, the organization had been acting on a verbal agreement with the county, and upon securing the new building it began seeking animal control contracts with the county and local municipalities. Per the contract that starts Jan. 1, the county’s portion covers unincorporated, rural parts of Jay County.)

Other agreements starting in January have been signed with Portland ($42,525) and Salamonia. Conn said the organization is open to pro-rating costs in agreements with other municipalities if the need arises next year.

“We have so much more variety of animals (now) than I ever remember,” Weaver pointed out, noting the size and breed differences of animals currently in the shelter.

One of those future pets is Magnum, a 1-year-old labrador retriever who loves giving hugs. Others dogs available as of Tuesday included a variety of breeds, such as Jack Russell terrier Sweet Pea, pit bull terrier Angel and chihuahua and pomeranian mix Neal. There are also currently a variety of domestic short-haired cats, including Heidi, a senior cat with a gray coat, and Meatball, an orange-striped kitten.

Hank, a Jack Russell terrier mix available at Jay County Humane Society, greets folks walking by his kennel last week. (The Commercial Review/Bailey Cline)

 

To learn more about the animals available at Jay County Humane Society, check their pages on Facebook or Petfinder.com, call the shelter or visit in-person.

Business hours for the public are from noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon to 2 p.m. Saturday. (For animal control services, they are available as needed through contact with local police.) Jay County Humane Society can be reached at (260) 726-6339.

Although it’s now open to the public, the new facility still has a few odds and ends to finish up before its official ribbon-cutting. Some of those projects include putting on a new roof — pending weather conditions, it’s expected to be finished within the next few weeks — and installing a new sign on the front of the building.

Weaver and Conn said as they were moving in, folks started stopping by.

“We’ve had a lot of people from out of town,” said Weaver.

Conn noted incoming animals are regularly checked by veterinarians, and medical bills vary greatly. Donations can be made at the facility or at various businesses across Portland. Volunteers are also always welcome.

Despite operating as the county’s contracted animal control service and working out of a new building, Jay County Humane Society is still dedicated to its original goals, noted Weaver.

“We still have our core values, we are a no-kill shelter,” Weaver said. “Even though we’re doing animal control, people I think feel like we’ve changed who we are, but we’re just the same organization doing more.”