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No More Homeless Pets Forum
July 5, 2004 Planning an Animal Shelter |
Whether you are planning a new shelter or renovating, you'll want to design something that will really meet your needs. Where do you begin? What do you need to think about? Ed Powers of Petfinder.com and Paul Bonacci and Lucy Schlaffer from ARQ Architects will answer all your questions about planning a shelter.
Introduction from Ed Powers:
Build it and they will come.Thinking of designing a new facility or renovating your existing one? How do we build, expand or renovate while meeting the needs of our major stakeholders? Who are those stakeholders? Who is in charge of a major building project? How do we avoid making a big, costly mistake?
I look forward to answering your questions and providing you with an operational view of planning, designing and surviving building an animal shelter, as well as the challenges of retrofitting your current space.
Topics to consider include the need to evaluate your current and future programs and expectations for your community; the impact it has on your planning and design process, building materials, heating and ventilation systems, animal and people flow patterns; and creating an atmosphere that meets the needs of all your major stakeholders.
Introduction from Lucy Schlaffer and Paul Bonacci, ARQ Architects:
Welcome to the No More Homeless Pets Forum on planning an animal shelter. At ARQ Architects, we live and breathe design issues and budget challenges that affect getting a great new facility up and running.Please send your e-mail questions and we'll be happy to take a pass at a good answer. Designing for animals requires great detailing, good materials, and excellent engineering, but also a philosophy that is focused on the best choices for each and every animal that will come through your doors.
Questions
Where to start on planning a new shelter
Separate air ventilation
Drains for waste system
Biggest mistakes made by groups building new shelters
Keeping cages and kennels disease-free
Creating separate areas for dogs and cats
Considering short-term vs. long-term care when planning a new shelter
Cutting down on noise
Where to begin with researching good shelter models
Designing an environmentally-friendly shelter
Setting a budget and finding an architect
Inexpensive ways to spruce up the shelter
Where to start on planning a new shelter
Question from a member:
Our shelter building is very old, and we would like to look at building a new shelter to replace it. Our Board of Directors wants me to start planning a capital campaign. I know there are many animal welfare experts out there who have done this. My question is this ... has anyone written something like "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Building a New Animal Shelter"? I've never done anything like this before, and although I'm not a complete idiot, I'd like something very basic to get me started!Lucy Schlaffer's response:
The book you mention has not been written so, here is our best approach. Consider contacting other executive directors that have recently built new building. Ask to visit if one is in your area.Collect some data about your current facility, how big is it, how many animals do you have now, what is the need in your area, what extra spaces do you have now, such as lunch area, training space, treatment and medical surgery etc?
Basically, start a list of spaces that you can use to start a discussion with a design professional.
Do not overbuild. Better to do a smaller facility that has the best air systems and acoustic measures rather than go big and new, but with less-quality systems and materials.
We have some guide points on design for no-kill shelters on our web site that you can look at.
So steps are research, what is being done by others, start your own inventory of space needs, contact a design professional with animal care or human medical care expertise, have fun and built what you need and no more.
Ed Power's response:
There are a couple of resources that you should take a look at before you begin planning your project. If you go to petfinder.com you can access an article in the library on "Building a New Shelter" courtesy of American Humane Association.The Humane Society of the United States has a packet available entitled "Planning and Building an Animal Shelter".
Both of these are excellent resources and will give you some nice background information as you begin this process. I would also recommend attending one of the workshops on Shelter Design and Construction, usually both American Humane and HSUS offer these at their annual conferences.
Visiting other recently built facilities for a tour is extremely valuable, try to arrange for someone who was involved in the building project (Ex. Director, Operations Director) to give you the tour and don't be bashful in asking what they would do differently as well as what they are pleased with in their facility. They can also provide you with valuable feedback on; materials that have worked well (or not) for them, design, equipment and consultants they may have worked with on their project.
You should also discuss with the Ex. Director and/or Development person their experiences in the capital campaign phase.
As Lucy points out, research is extremely important. You should fully assess what you are currently providing your community, what additional programs/functions you would like to provide and project out what the community/organization needs might be in 10, 20 and 30 years. While you may not be able to build a facility that meets all of what you want to do now, you should consider whether or not your location will allow for future expansion. Many groups are developing programs in several phases.
Animal shelters are very unique and specialized buildings. You would be best served to at least consult with someone who has experience in shelter design and construction. Talk to others that have gone through this experience and learn from them.
Separate air ventilation
Question from Jill:
Can separate air ventilation be installed in an old building? How does this work and does it really help prevent URI in cats? We have been having a really difficult time keeping our shelter disease free because our shelter was built in the 80's and was not really built to house animals. We would like to put in a separate air system but are not sure if it can be done and at what cost?Paul Bonacci's response:
Providing 100% outside conditioned air to animal homes/units is the best way to have a healthy environment for all animals. Outside air is conditioned (heat or cooling) supplied via ducts to the animal units and then is exhausted back to the outside. This air is not re-cycled, but should have a "heat recovery system" for energy savings. Filters can be considered.Regarding your building, it will depend on available space for adding mechanical units and ductwork (free attic or ceiling space would be best) and structure for supporting the mechanical unit(s), to determine if this is viable. We consider this one of the most important components for the comfort of both people and animals. Unfortunately, it is the most expensive. For a new facility it can be as much as 1/4 of the overall cost of a new building. This requires a good thoughtful mechanical engineer. That would be your best first step to evaluate if this would be possible for your building and to get a real idea of cost.
Ed Power's response:
I agree with Paul, providing 100% outside conditioned air in your animal handling areas is the best air-handling option for helping to maintain a healthy environment.Adding these systems (especially as a retro-fit) is very costly and complicated, you do need to consult with a good mechanical engineer and architect on such a project.
However, before thinking of putting a lot of money into such a major investment, I would suggest that you fully evaluate your entire operations and animal management programs as there are many things that can factor into disease control and prevention in the shelter environment.
You should fully evaluate your cleaning and sanitation program, the materials used in the construction of the animal holding areas, flow of animals/people through the building, air flow patterns, ability to properly quarantine incoming animals until you can fully screen and vaccinate before they go into the general population, are you able to properly isolate sick animals (if you are treating them) from the rest of the population, can you provide stress reduction programs/housing for the cats?
There are many factors that impact your ability to prevent/control disease in the shelter environment. While air handling is a major component, adding a new HVAC system is not a cure all if the rest of your program has significant issues, and I would be very concerned if you are working in an environment that you say was built in the 80's and not set up to handle animals. You may need to consider if this is the best solution or is it time to seriously consider a new facility.
The Humane Society of the United States, ASPCA and American Humane all can provide expert advice and resources on evaluating your current program. I would recommend this as a first step and then working with a mechanical engineer and architect on what can best be done with the existing facility.
Drains for waste system
Question from Carol:
I have been touring some shelters to see different designs to know what we want and one thing that two of them both said they would do very differently next time was the design of how the waste flows out of the dog kennels because they were having a lot of trouble with it backing up and with toys and newspaper getting caught in it. How would you recommend setting up the waste system in a shelter?Lucy Schlaffer's response:
Individual drains (one for each dog room) are the answer.Do not use trench drains, as they are nearly impossible to clean, collect bacteria and transmit disease.
We use a square grid cover on the drains with hair trap below. Toys/ newspapers cannot get into these.
We have instituted using a scoop method for solid waste and have the staff flush the waste down a standard hospital design bedpan type sink. One is made by American Standard, "service clinic sink" from their institutional line.
Staff needs a good training on not trying to flush large objects or wads of paper towels down any plumbing fixture.
Many shelters are still using trench drains and "runs" that incorporate a drain into them. We do not believe these work well, as your feedback has indicated.
Ed Powers' response:
I second Lucy. Individual floor drains are well worth it. When I worked at the Animal Rescue League we had both styles between our shelters and we knew for sure we wanted to go with individual drains in our new shelters. I would also recommend using drains with a hinged/flip up cover. Train staff to remove all solids prior to hosing down, if you feel it is needed then a removable trap can be in place as a safety.Biggest mistakes made by groups building new shelters
Question from Susan:
What would you say are the biggest mistakes shelters normally make when looking to build a new shelter? We are just now starting our information gathering stage and want to make sure to avoid any pitfalls we can!Paul Bonacci's response:
I'm sure that Ed and Lucy will have other (or perhaps similar) things to add but here are my thoughts, not really mistakes, but....Establish a larger vision for what you are trying to accomplish. This will help order your process and decision making process. Often we see groups focus on smaller issues long before the goals are established.
Build better but smaller. Animal care facilities are very demanding on building systems. Floors, walls, HVAC systems, and yes, the occupants. You're more likely to save more lives in a well planned and built structure than in one where there were too many compromises made, usually for budget purposes.
Ed Powers' response:
There are several I have seen in the visits I have made to various groups.1. Not planning for the cost of operating a larger facility. Many groups have only looked at the price tag of what it will cost to build a bigger building. Construction costs are a one time expenditure that you can fundraise against. Increased operating costs for a larger building that requires more staff is an annual expense that you need to be prepared to take on. I know several groups with new buildings that are on the verge of closing because they can't make their operational budget.
2. Turning the project over to a local architect, that someone on the board knows, who has never been involved in designing an animal facility, and more specifically a shelter. I don't think there is a more specialized building that needs to be designed to take a lot of heavy abuse, than an animal shelter. Having someone involved in this process that has had experience with shelters is key.
3. Turning the project over to entirely to any architect, contractor, board, committee without input from key operational staff. This is your project. You are responsible for making sure that you get what you need and what is appropriate for your organization and community. Do not give up control. You need to be involved from start to finish.
4. Finally, take the time to educate yourself. Attend the workshops at the national conferences, visit as many other newer facilities as you can and reach out to others who have gone through this before as often as possible throughout the entire process.
Lucy Schlaffer's response:
One of the biggest mistakes is not considering the entire shelter from the animals' perspective.Since we've initiated improving housing for animals in the adoption setting, we often find the intake/receiving areas forsaken when it comes to design. Natural light and ample space for each dog and cat as they come through your shelter is important from the first day.
The mental and physical health of the cats and dogs is very important to maintain and is worth the extra effort to ensure that they are warmly received and cared for from day one.
This is logical, but often not done. A happy dog, after 14 days in quarantine in a small cage or run, comes out stressed and more likely to become aggressive and therefore less-adoptable. The behavior regression that you can prevent from occurring due to poor design pays back in quicker adoptions, more motivated staff and appreciative public support.
Second biggest mistake is looking with a micro perspective on your shelter as a sole entity. Gather what you can about the full spectrum of other groups in your area, rescue, other shelters, city/county facilities etc. What are they doing? Try to fit your program to augment the best of what is already going on. Work on cutting down overpopulation with the region to minimize how much animal space you need in the first place. These basic overview concepts are often not considered. A workshop with your local vet association, and any nearby vet school is useful to coordinate spay-neuter smartly and without group-to-group conflict. Good question.
Keeping cages and kennels disease free
Question from Jenny:
One of the things we are most concerned about at our current shelter is being able to effectively clean and disinfect areas. We have plexiglass cages, which are impossible to disinfect, and our floors are also a problem being tile with cracks that are hard to get clean. Can you talk about what kind of things you recommend in terms of cages, flooring, and walls? Is there something we can do easily to renovate our current shelter to make it easier to clean and keep disease free?Ed Powers' responses:
We used storefront aluminum and glass in our dog adoption rooms and a glass front on the public facing side of the cat cages. The glass was held in place by four clips in each corner (something we had Shor-Line custom design for us), which left a 1/4 inch gap along each individual cage window. One of the other benefits of this is that we had fresh air coming in the public space, moving through the cat cage and exhausting through the center work area, thus reducing any odors in the public spaces.We have used ceramic glazed block, epoxy paint and the reinforced fiberglass epoxy systems for our walls and have had great luck with epoxy quartzite floors. In cages, we went with mostly stainless steel with the glass fronts. From a cleaning and disinfecting standpoint this works very well.
Lucy Schlaffer's response:
Cleaning is the number one staff challenge. Plexiglass is just not ideal as it scratches. We use laminated glass for windows and doors. The significant change in design that we pioneered with the San Francisco SPCA is to get the animals out of cages and into room environment. It does wonders for their mental health, the mood of the staff and adopters as well as allowing for an efficient cleaning surface. Tile floors or porcelain with small sandless grout can be OK. Sanded grout is porous and even if sealed tends to collect dirt, hair etc.We use a fiberglass reinforced wall surface for the dog room walls and have had good luck with hard trowelled concrete stained floors with coved bases. The base needs to be flush with the wall surface to not create a ledge that will collect dirt.
Last when designing new facilities or renovating existing ones, create conveniently located "service" rooms for staff to clean from. It is not an easy retrofit to make your shelter easy to clean. To do it right you need to go room by room and use the best wall systems and completely redo the floors. The cost can be substantial and often suggests a new wing or addition for the animal care areas. People spaces can be more readily retrofitted.
Creating separate areas for dogs and cats
Question from Mary:
In a small, existing shelter what recommendations do you have for creating a separate environment for the dogs and cats? Our shelter has them in a separate room, but the dogs can easily be heard and this upsets the cats making them appear frightened and antisocial.Lucy Schlaffer's response:
If your shelter is small, then one option could be to relocate your cat room to another room further away. The cat room would need minimally fresh air, a drain and water connection.Secondly, if you need to keep the dog room near the cat room, try to acoustically isolate one or the other of the rooms.
The cat room door should have sound gasketing around it, the wall that is closest to the dog zone could be furred out by a contractor and add some wall insulation to it. If there is any window or door glass looking into the cat room from a hallway, you could swap out the glass with 3/8" laminated glass, which is an excellent acoustic glass.
Similarly putting rubber sound gaskets on the dog entry doorway and replacing any glass with the laminated glass would help.
Other things could be done to try to stop the dogs from barking, but trying to eliminate their ability to see each other, but I have the feeling that is more difficult for you in your small shelter.
So try to muffle the dog barking by sound insulating the cat area if relocating them further away is not an option. Last you could put some music with nature sounds, birds, etc into the cat area to somewhat distract them from the dog annoyance that is stressing them out.
Ed Powers' response:
Lucy makes some excellent suggestions. I would add that in addition to trying some environment enrichment & activities to keep the dogs occupied that you should consider the same for the cats, if you are not already doing so. Hiding spaces and perches within the cat's cage or colony room will allow them to better control their environment and provide some stress reduction.The more space you can create between the dogs and cats the better. Bringing walls up to the roof deck, using acoustical ceiling tiles (I like Armstrong's Cermaguard), applying Pyrok type products to the walls and ceilings can help reduce the noise in the animal spaces. If you are using stainless steel caging for the cats you should consider using insulating panels or the sound bands that the manufacturers have to reduce the reverberation of the cage. You might also consider using pheromones like Feliway to help the cats feel more at home.
Considering short term vs. long term care when planning a new shelter
Question from Ann:
We are looking at a new shelter. We are a no kill shelter, so some of our animals stay here a few months to a year. We were wondering about what we should take into consideration in terms of short term care vs. long term care in planning a new building. Because our animals may be here longer, we want to allow for social interaction and stimulation but realize that when they first come in it may not be wise to put them into a social group setting right away until they feel comfortable in new surroundings and they have gotten their shots and been tested. So we would need an isolation area, an intake area, and then we would need short term and long term areas. How do other shelters do that?Lucy Schlaffer's response:
You are right to keep the animals isolated in the first days/weeks while they undergo assessment and evaluation and receive any medical treatment before becoming available for adoption.So isolation and intake are important areas. We like to encourage groups to give more space to these areas so the animals have the least stress when first arriving. Multiple small isolation zones are good so that you have the greatest flexibility for managing outbreaks if they occur.
Then, when available for adoption, we design the adoption areas to group around courtyards or porches to enable play and socialization and also allow get-acquainted areas for adopters.
We do not see that you need to separate long and short term populations. If you are have a particularly long-term guest, you might alternatively try fostering in a home to see if you can alter the dog or cat's ability to socialize and meet a new family. Sometimes a dog or cat needs a break from the shelter and upon return will get adopted quickly.
So I would not recommend separating the long-term animals as this might stigmatize them more to the staff and public. Rather be inventive to get them adopted. Showcase them up front in the facility, groom them work on any behavior issues, so that they find a home.
All adoption areas should be spacious and filled with natural light. In our view, each animal should be in a home like environment and not a cage or run.
We do separate the dog areas and cat areas or other small animal areas from one to the other to limit stress and to allow those adopters (and volunteers) that prefer dogs or cats to focus on their favorites without going through the non-favorite side.
Ed Powers' response:
Again, I can't stress enough the need to get out and visit several facilities with newer buildings to see what they have done.As I said earlier in the week, there are several resources you should check out in addition to attending some of the national conferences on shelter design and construction (a good place to network as well). If you go to petfinder.com you can access an article in the library on "Building a New Shelter" courtesy of American Humane Association.
The Humane Society of the United States has a packet available entitled "Planning and Building an Animal Shelter". This article includes a list of newer facilities throughout the United States that are worth contacting and/or visiting.
You are right in recognizing that you still need to have a variety of ways to handle and house animals and not just confine yourself to group housing situations. All animals should be fully evaluated medically and behaviorally before being considered for group housing situations, and even then some animals will do better by themselves.
You should check out some of the work Nadine Gourkow, British Columbia SPCA, has done on group housing of cats and reducing stress in the shelter environment. The way you set up the animals cage, play toys, social interaction with humans as well as group housing for long term makes a big difference. You can also access Petfinder.com's library for other articles on long term care of animals and behavior and environmental enrichment.
As far as how other shelters do that, you will find that it varies from one group to the next. See a variety of programs and pick and choose what practices will best fit your program.
Cutting down on noise
Question from Karen:
What are some things that can be done in existing shelters to cut down on noise? People don't like to spend time in our dog kennels because it is so loud and noisy back there. We have concrete walls and high ceilings and the noise just creates an echo effect.Lucy Schlaffer's response:
Acoustic treatment is possible to help cut down on the noise. See some thoughts in calming cats question from Mary.The best solution is to isolate the dogs from each other, eliminating face to face contact. So if you have a double loaded kennel, try to keep the dogs all on one side when your population is low. (or stagger them as much as you can...)
Some acoustic measures that would help are to put acoustic plaster on the ceiling and walls down to 7' or so. This acoustic plaster is sprayed on and must be installed by a certified installer. One product is Acoustament 40 by PYROC corp. This really works and can be steam cleaned or hosed down with hot water as needed for cleaning.
Also, putting laminated glass on any windows/doors into the room will help keep the sound within the room.
There also are sound baffles that can be hung from the ceiling, although these are not quite as effective as the acoustic plaster.
Last, if you get the dogs out frequently to exercise and play, they will be less apt to bark so much when they are happy and tired.
If you could sub-divide the dog kennels to minimize how many are in one total room together it also would help limit the barking. But, this likely is a lot of trouble and costly to do and might cut down on your number of dog spaces.
Ed Powers' response:
Similar to what was said to Mary in the previous question. Looking at your physical set-up (do you have a straight line of kennels with dogs having eye-eye contact), behavioral/environment enrichment and surface materials are the keys to controlling noise.Behavioral and environmental enrichment is a key for the dogs in reducing stress and boredom. If volunteers can take the dogs for walks, do some play time and obedience training it will help to relieve stress and boredom for the dogs and use up some energy so that they may not be as inclined to bark.
There are a number of nice products on the market that you may want to consider using in these areas that are durable in a moist environment and have a good noise reduction coefficient. Pyrok can be applied to wall and ceiling areas and you may want to consider using a drop ceiling with an acoustical tile such as Armstrong's ceramaguard.
If you have one large room with numerous kennels you may want to see if it is feasible to break this up into several rooms. Can you stagger the arrangement of the kennels so that you don't have one straight corridor of kennels where one dog is stimulated and causes the rest of the line to start barking.
Where to begin with researching good shelter models
Question from Katherine:
You all have mentioned looking at other shelters and doing some research first. Can you give some good shelter designs that you like or recommend? Also, at what point do you contact an architect? Do you do all the research on your own calling other places and then call them or are they your first call? I don't know what type of questions I should be asking and feel overwhelmed by all the research and information available.Lucy Schlaffer's response:
From our perspective at ARQ, we just finished a terrific, green designed, mid-sized rural shelter for the Tompkins County SPCA outside of Ithaca NY. The San Francisco SPCA Maddies Pet Adoption Center, completed in 1998, is still a good example of the new type of animal housing we developed and support. Also, there are three great cat habitats for the ASPCA in NYC that are fun to see as an example of group housing.It is overwhelming to begin any construction project. I agree with Ed Powers in saying the design challenge is unique and it is good to ultimately work with an experienced architect/contractor team. However, that said, early on, if you have an experienced board member or staff person that has gone through a construction effort, start with including them to get a feel for the steps. Also, some of the national workshops on design may be a good first step to get you going on a step by step approach. The research that we recommend is to know what you think you need and what you can afford to maintain and operate. What does your community really need? If you do not already have them establish, determine long range and short range goals for your organization. Put priorities to your goals. Ultimately it comes down to a realistic amount of money that you can raise in order to build.
We've had groups come in that want the world but have no money. Other groups have some money and it is not enough to really do a good job, and they have to try to raise enoug to make it worth it.
If you are really overwhelmed, find someone local who is knowledgeable that will even just sit down with you for a few hours to put the basics on paper. Then consider attending one of the conferences to get a bit more understanding and direction. After that you'll feel more confident and able to lead your organization in a meaningful way.
Designing an environmentally friendly shelter
Question from Janet:
I was really impressed with seeing the Tompkins County new "green" shelter and wondered more about making a shelter environmentally friendly. I would think that it may be more expensive at first, but saves money over time. Where can I find out more about the types of environmental designs for shelters and costs?Paul Bonacci's response:
We consider an environmentally responsible approach to go hand in hand with shelter design. As we all have discussed previously in this forum, animal shelters are one of the most demanding buildings for organization, materials choices, and energy use. We believe that a holistic approach is needed to make this work. Combining innovative animal care concepts, along with all the aspects of green design is key.The reality is that green design is attainable, and should be applied to EVERY building project, not just animal facilities. I would go out on a limb and say that green design is not significantly more expensive than standard construction. But what is standard construction? That should be disappearing. For example, at the Tompkins County SPCA, our use of water saving fixtures and new ideas in waste removal/cleaning allowed us to reduce the size of the septic system (there was no city sewer) by 20%, thus reducing cost. This type of savings is off set by committing to energy savings, primarily in HVAC systems that added to the overall cost. But will contribute to long term energy savings and greatly contributing to comfort for both people and animals. I would say that project costs were increased by about 5% for the TC SPCA project. But this took a lot of work and communication between the client and architect/engineering team. And yes, this required us (the Architects) to work harder to meet these goals at an affordable price.
The larger commitment for animal care groups is to designing buildings that provide the structure and systems that contribute to the well being of the animals in your care. For example, there is a huge difference in cost from a building that provides minimal air change, to the 100% outside air systems that we have done at the TC SPCA and other facilities.
There are no specific animal related resources for environmentally responsible design. The Maddies Pet Adoption Center for the SF SPCA, designed by our firm, also uses similar green concepts as the TC SPCA. We had seen articles about another shelter in Philadelphia (I can't remember the name, sorry) that incorporated energy saving features, designed by Susan Maxman Architects (funny, I can remember the name of the architect). Probably the best overall resource is the US Green Building Council.
Setting a budget and finding an architect
Question from Megan:
We currently house 25 dogs and have room for 65 cats (although we often go way over that!). We would like to expand to have more room for growth.1. How do you know how big to make your new shelter and how many animals to house? We don't want to overwhelm ourselves by making it too big but want to make sure we have left enough room for growth.
2. How do you know how much to budget for a new shelter? We have an annual budget currently but have never priced new shelters. Do we look at designs and size first to come up with one we like and then talk budgets with the architect or are we supposed to have a figure in mind first?
3. And do you talk to an architect before you have done a capital campaign to raise the funds or are you supposed to have all the money in hand before contacting them?
Sorry for all the questions in one! I hope you can help get me on the right path. Thank you!
Lucy Schlaffer and Paul Bonacci's response:
Earlier in the week we suggested to take inventory of your own needs (animal population history) and look at your community need, that is perhaps un-served or underserved.The first step in any design process is to have a program of spaces that constitute what will become the design of the building. Traditionally, owners developed their own program and then gave this to the architect to begin schematic design along with a site location and survey information.
However, the cage/run housing paradigm for designing shelters is no longer valid in our opinion. Therefore, with more and more groups considering co-housing of animals, and more and more groups aspiring to give every animal a home... it is almost impossible to answer the question you ask regarding how big to build.
We stress, do not overbuild, allow for expansion of future, other needs, such as training, etc. The housing should be first-rate design. Phase other areas if need be. Set a target that matches your long-range goals. What region are you trying to serve, your city, certain zip codes, your county, what? Start with a smaller achievable goal then expand as your success grows. The overall population of animals without homes should be moving downward nationally as more and more of you keep jumping in to serve the animals and cut down on overpopulation.
So say you want to help every animal in your county, how many are there? Get the numbers, see what the need is. If too big, start with a smaller goal. So try to write down a version of a program on your own... we want to have 25 dog spaces and 75 cat spaces with appropriate intake/isolation areas to support; we want to have a spay/neuter clinic (or not.); we need a laundry; we need storage for (xx and x); we need a conference room, a training space for x dogs three times a week... this kind of list. That will give the architects a place to build from.
The second step is budget. Cost to build varies across the country, but we see the range from $150 per foot to $250 per foot. Can be even higher in the middle of the largest cities too.
So if you add your list of spaces from step one, and get 10000sf, then you'll need $1.5 to 2.5 million dollars for construction, plus the site, plus fees for permits, design, etc. The extra expenses can range 10 - 20% of construction cost. It is good to go through your internal exercise to see about how much space you think you need, do some rough numbers on the cost based on general square foot numbers (check your local support people for more accurate range in your area). Then add the site cost, and the development expenses to see if you think that is an achievable budget number for you.
As a third step, you could then take the above information and have a preliminary discussion with a capital campaign consultant to see if your fund-raising target is on base. Or, you can work a bit with an architect to fine-tune your program, maybe prepare a conceptual design to use in the capital campaign, and raise the money. When you are pretty close, go back and do the more costly design work to secure permits.
Most architects would be willing to do a concept phase first, to get you started, for an initial fee. It is good to get most of your money and definitely have the site secured before doing any true architectural work. That way you really know what your doing and you're spending the money wisely.
The AIA (American Institute of Architects) has a web site called www.e-architect.com. This can direct you to architects in your area and also gives some tips about how to work with architects. You should try to get an architect that has non-profit experience, and either animal care or medical expertise or institutional experience, such as lab design or university level science facilities, etc. This group of architects is going to be the best fit for understanding the type of materials you will require, etc.
So a long answer, but it is a tough subject, and one we deal with nearly every day, when others just like you ponder this step. Take care and go step by step to make your process fun and successful. Last, do not forget, as Ed Powers said earlier in the week, to make sure you have enough financial resources to not only build your facility, but to run & operate for the long-term.
Inexpensive ways to spruce up the shelter
Question from a member:
We aren't at a point of being able to get a new shelter right now. We would like to start making some basic improvements to make the shelter look more attractive to the public and also make it friendlier for the dogs and cats. Right now it is pretty much a cement square building with old style dog runs and cat cages. Do you have some simple, inexpensive, yet effective ways that we can make it more of a friendly and less stressful environment for the animals and to spruce it up for the public?Lucy Schlaffer's response:
You can do some things inexpensively with landscape, create some outdoor play areas, courts, etc. that invite informal get-acquainted sessions outdoors. You do not say where you are located, but even in cold climates outdoor spaces can be helpful for three seasons anyway. If at all possible try to keep the existing facility really clean and un-cluttered. Often walls are just magnets for every poster, sign-up sheet pet photo, etc.Try to organize what you have on your walls to be clustered by type. Create an educational zone, a pet information zone (maybe use photo albums rather than sticking each and every photo on the wall), etc. See if a local designer could volunteer to give you an economical makeover. Tell them, "I have x budget, what can I do?" Or if this was a bare room, "How would you put up the information I have?" One thing to do is to feature certain topics, such as behavior - one week and put up your behavior information. Then the next week do something else. This creates interest for repeat visitors as well as volunteers.
Perhaps contact a local arts group to see about offering the entry hall or public area as an art gallery, focusing on animal-inspired art or wildlife. Have an art opening and invite all to see the art (and the pets too.)
Get rid of tattered furniture and put a few new cat trees or dog beds or play structures up. This will look fun and welcoming.
Incorporating "bird watching for cat windows" by placing feeders in site of the cats looks nice, if you keep them clean.
For the outside, fresh paint can help, but may not make too much of a statement. A new entry sign or graphics may look like your modern and new without really being there. It is hard to redo the animal areas without some money. But converting some cat areas to group housing and losing the cages looks a lot nicer and is better for most cats anyway.
Hard question. Best in the short run, fix up.
