CONTRIBUTED BY LCHS
LEE COUNTY —
It is with great excitement that the Lee County Humane Society announced it will be expanding the shelter to add much-needed space for large dogs.
This endeavor could not be possible without the generous donation and support of Walter and Virginia Woltosz. The Woltoszes are passionate animal lovers and have been active Lee County Humane Society Volunteers since 2014. When an animal is in need, one can bet that the Woltoszes are right around the corner to help.
In the past few years the cities of Auburn and Opelika have increased their populations rapidly. With this increase, Lee County Humane Society has been at nearly full capacity for two years. Its larger dogs have suffered the most, being that they are harder to adopt and/or get into foster homes. Its larger dogs also require more physical space for their care and well-being.
If you haven’t been to the Lee County Humane Society, its facility is not very big. It currently has 66 large dog kennels. One might see this as a lot, but if you break down a typical day it might make more sense as to why more space is needed. One day it may have 11 adoptions, but also 21 intakes. That means it has 10 more cats and dogs than it began with that day. It’s almost like trying to climb out of credit card debt by only paying the interest. This forces some very difficult decisions to be made in order to keep its space at capacity. Its expansion will help ease or eliminate difficult decisions and provide more chances for positive outcomes for animals at the shelter.
This project will consist of enclosing the current carport and adding space for kennels to house a minimum of 10 large dogs and possibly more smaller dogs and puppies. This addition is sponsored by the Woltoszes. This wouldn’t be possible without their support and love for the pets at the shelter.
The Woltoszes are just as generous with their donations as they are with their time spent supporting the shelter. Virginia has helped on many occasions with fundraising and auction baskets. Both make efforts to attend any reception, sporting event or campaign to raise awareness in the community for the homeless animals at the shelter. In the early stages of this project, they agreed to sponsor the expansion financially and have supported LCHS every step of the way.
Lee County Humane Society’s board has been in discussions with contractors and architects for the past year to get the ball rolling on this much-needed addition.
This endeavor has been spearheaded by a dedicated volunteer, Tom Gober. Gober agreed to take the lead on the expansion project and has been a crucial part of the process. With Gober leading the way, along with LCHS’s passionate and hardworking board members, a contract with J.A. Lett Construction has been signed, and work should begin soon. Groundbreaking is set for January 2023 and should be completed in early April of this year. This is great timing because warmer weather is always busier with more intakes for the shelter.
If you are interested in helping the Lee County Humane Society, we offer several avenues for you to do so. Fostering is one of those avenues. Lee County has an amazing foster community, which is why the Lee County Humane Society can provide great care for our animals, have a 99% live release rate and so on. If you are interested in fostering any of our available furry friends, visit our website or contact our foster coordinators at foster2@leecountyhumane.org.
It also runs the shelter and foster programs with the valiant efforts of our volunteers and donors. If you are interested in volunteering and/or donating, you can contact Kim Reeder at Volunteer2@leecountyhumane.org, or Jenny Warren, LCHS’s outreach and development coordinator at Outreachanddevelop@leecountyhumane.org. You may catch up on exciting events and learn more about donating, fostering or volunteering on LCHS’s website: www.leecountyhumane.org. Don’t forget to check out our adoptable pets.
This is just the beginning of growing and expanding as LCHS continues to have long-term goals for its shelter. The shelter is always grateful for its volunteers, fosters and donors and look forward to continuing to serve the community and finding adopters the perfect addition to their family. As the shelter grows it continues to seek your support to care for these pets now more than ever.
If you would like to support the shelter, please join our No More Wasted Lives Campaign and donate here: http://weblink.donorperfect.com/NMWL2022.
Drop by and see LCHS’s pets. The shelter welcomes visitors and cannot wait to share its mission with you.