Brief Tour of Animal Facilities
Photos and Story by Bob Walter

     All photos taken  Tuesday, December 15, 2009, one day after the council meeting where the conditions were described as so bad the place needed to be remodeled. The humane society donated this cat cage bank, which can hold nine separate adult cats. One of six dog kennels was converted to house these. At right is a humane cage trap for catching stray dogs too frightened or wary to be approached.

     Most of the flooring in the holding facility is concrete. The kennels slope toward a center aisle which also slopes to a sewer drain, which is the standard in kennel design.

     This view shows the sloped flooring to the sewer drain, and shelving for pet dishes and other equipment. Tera says food needed for stray animals has always been donated. In addition, animal-loving volunteers have sometimes helped with kennel improvements.

     The outer aisles on three sides of the holding facility consist of gravel surfaces - not ideal for disinfecting, but fairly easy to remedy. Small amounts of concrete, left over after the completion of larger paving projects (come-back concrete), are often available by donation.

     The interior of Eatonville's stray animal holding facility at the town shops has rigid foam panels for insulation, which cannot be scrubbed or easily disinfected, and thus are not ideal for housing animals from multiple sources.

     The ceiling insulation consists of the same  rigid foam panels as the walls. Tera states she always sprays downward when cleaning with a hose, to avoid, or at least minimize, contamination of these surfaces. The chain link kennels are over six feet tall, and though some determined dogs become somewhat adept at climbing them, and at jumping, she knows of no dogs who have successfully scaled over one during her nearly five-year tenure as animal control officer.

     Translucent fiberglass panels allow natural light to enter the kennel from the front. Electrical conduit, receptacles  and light switches were installed soon after Officer Pine was hired in March 2005. Before being hired by the town Tera worked for years at the humane society in Tacoma as the License Compliance Officer.

     Impounded dogs will sometimes chew and push at the chain link sides of the kennels out of fear, boredom or frustration, creating gaps which require mending, seen here. This is a common maintenance issue in stray animal shelters. The cot (covered with bedding), one of three donated by Dispatch publisher Mike Jeffries, provides a raised, softer, warmer resting/sleeping surface for the dogs. While subject to chewing by some dogs, the fabric can be replaced.

     This small gap in the ceiling panels shows what could perhaps be litter created by nesting birds. The gap has been there for years, with no change in the amount of material.  

The back wall of the holding facility as seen from the outside.