MONTAGUE — The Friends of the Franklin County Regional Dog Shelter, the nonprofit that funds the dog shelter, is looking for volunteers to help raise money for a new building.
The organization is in the planning stages of a fundraising operation to build a new shelter. The shelter was faced with finding a new location because it has to move from its current location, at 10 Sandy Lane in Turners Falls, which is part of a master plan for an industrial park expansion in the area.
Ray Brown, treasurer of the group, said they are in the early stages of the project, but they have decided to build a new shelter, instead of purchasing an existing building and remodeling it because the town has offered them land to help offset the cost, and it will allow the shelter to customize to make sure it fits the communities needs. They have hired an architect and engineering firm and are finalizing what the total cost of the project will be.
The town of Montague has offered the dog shelter a 30-year lease on a plot of land for a nominal fee. Walter Ramsey, the Montague town planner, said that the town has authorized the lease, which would be for two acres of municipal land adjacent to the Public Safety Complex.
The Friends of the Shelter organization is raising the money for the new shelter, which they hope to be operational by 2018. They are looking for volunteer fundraisers because they don’t plan on hiring one, and want all of the money to go to the new shelter. They plan to launch the fundraising campaign within the next month.
“Every penny goes to the dogs, not people’s salaries,” Joanne Schlunk, president of the Friends of the Regional Dog Shelter, said.
Schlunk said they are looking for people with a variety of skills, including computer know how and fundraising experience. There is no minimum time commitment to the project.
The shelter opened four years ago in November 2012, in what was intended as a quick fix. Before the shelter, when dog officers found dogs, they would often take them home and keep them in their houses or barns. More than 800 dogs have been served by the shelter since it opened.
Leslee Colucci, director of the shelter and dog officer, said the existing location was meant to be temporary, and is housed in an old DPW building that was renovated by minimum security inmates through the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office community service program.
Over time, it’s become apparent that they need more space. She said the shelter is almost always at capacity, and usually over capacity. The new shelter would also include an isolation space for dogs with illnesses that could spread to the other dogs.
The shelter is run by two dog officers funded through the Sheriff’s Department and about 30 volunteers.
The project will represent a way for the community to get involved in something that serves the Franklin County region, according to Brown.
“By helping, people will have the opportunity to put their fingerprints on a very long term solution,” he said.
Those interested in volunteering to raise money for the project should contact the shelter at 413-676-9182.
Miranda Davis covers Gill, Montague and Erving.
Reach her at 413-772-0261 ext. 280
or mdavis@recorder.com.