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GRANBY, Colo. — Up in Grand County, it’s a different kind of cold, which is why it’s so important to bring pets indoors at night.
“Being outside, it is much tougher during the wintertime,” said Grand County Animal Shelter volunteer Diana Farabaugh. “It’s cold out. And we have rescues from all over.”
Having shelter can be the difference between life or death.
“Even when it’s hot out, the animals need a safe place to be,” said Mary Ann Kerstiens, treasurer of Grand County Pet Pals and an animal control corporal with Grand County.
“The Grand County Animal Shelter has been here for about 25 years,” Farabaugh said. “And we take in all kinds of animals. Animals that are abandoned, animals that have been dropped off, that we’ve picked up, animals that people can no longer care for.”
“For the past 25 years, it’s given us what we’ve needed,” Kerstiens said.
But now, because of the county’s growth, they’re being pushed out.
“Unfortunately, with the growth in the county, we’ve had to look for a new space,” Farabaugh said. “The sanitation department is expanding.”
The sanitation department owns the building the animal shelter occupies and finally needs the space after 25 years of lending it out.
“It’s just what happens when a county grows,” Kerstiens said. “We’ve taken on the task to try to raise funds to build a new building.”
Through thoughtful planning and preparation, an architect and contractor have helped develop designs for a new building. Through donations, Grand County Pet Pals was able to raise enough money to purchase the land for a new shelter.
“We have about three-quarters of an acre of property here, a little bit short,” Farabaugh said. “It cost about $145,000. So, we’ll have the front of the building facing the ballfields, and then our parking lot will be right here.”
Farabaugh showed Denver7 the property, which is right next to Kaibab Park and also at the gateway of Granby on the southeast side of town as you come in from Winter Park, just a few blocks from downtown.
“People coming to the ballfields, people coming to the park will be able to see the shelter,” Farabaugh said. “And hopefully, that will help us get our animals adopted faster. When you lose your ball, you have to take a dog home with you.”
The shelter will also have easy access to city water here, with another sanitation building just across the street from the new location.
“That’s the reason why that piece of property was so favorable to us,” Kerstiens said.
Although they’ve raised roughly $800,000 for the project, they still need about $1 million to complete it.
“It’s about a $2 million building,” Farabaugh said.
So, for now, the fundraising continues.
“We have a mission that we feel that we need to find homes for animals,” Kerstiens said.
Kerstiens said the partnership between Pet Pals Treasure and Grand County Animal Control will continue regardless of where they end up.
“And everyone’s behind us,” she said. “It’s just that – we’re needing the funds to make the dream of the whole county come to light. We are a smaller community, but as Deana said, we are growing.”
If they secure enough funding, they will break ground in May.
Denver7 is helping Grand County Animal Control raise money for a new building through Denver7 Gives. If you’d like to help, click here and select ” Build A New Grand Co. Animal Shelter” in the drop-down menu.
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