Dogs and cats at high risk of being euthanized because of medical issues, behavioral problems or their remote location will soon be given another chance at a new South Anchorage shelter.
In late October, the Alaska Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals will be opening its kennel doors at a state-of-the-art facility. The nonprofit will focus on providing shelter and finding homes for at-risk cats and dogs who'd otherwise come to a much grimmer fate.
Tucked away in an industrial neighborhood on Petersburg Street north of East Dimond Boulevard, the bright purple Alaska SPCA sign stands out against the beige warehouse walls. During a recent visit, the building was quiet, the floors were spotless and air smelled like fresh paint, instead of dog breath and kitty litter.
By Oct. 24, the new facility will be a much different scene. At capacity, the shelter can house up to 20 cats and 10 dogs, plus a litter of puppies.
A major goal of the facility will be to take in strays from rural communities, many of which lack proper shelters and veterinarians.
"It's a huge problem," SPCA executive director Kay Ashton said. Currently, the SPCA is working with two Western Alaska communities, Dillingham and Nome.
Nome is the home of the finish line for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, but currently the community is without a veterinarian or animal control unit.
"No animal control and no vet -- that's a problem," Ashton said. "We will be able to extend services to those areas."
In Dillingham, the situation is slightly different, as the community has both a veterinarian and animal care and control officer, but if they can't find a home for the animal, Ashton said, "they have no choice" -- the animal will be euthanized.
With the ability to send strays to the new Anchorage facility, Ashton hopes those unclaimed animals will find a brighter future.
Ashton walked through each room of the facility and explained the small details that make the new shelter special. She started in the cat rooms.
Kennels for healthy cats are stacked against the walls. Kennels will have private litter box areas, connected to the main kennel by cat doors. According to Ashton, the separate litter box rooms will give the cats a little privacy, but also keep them from living on top of their own waste.
"These kennels will hold them at night," Ashton said. "During the day, they will be able to come out and roam in small groups."
The facility is also equipped with six cat isolation kennels, each with two switches on the front to control lighting and airflow.
"Sick cats or cats that are not socialized, we'll take," Ashton said. "What we do is get them well and then we socialize the cat. These isolation units will be used for stuff like that; a cat with a disease (and) respiratory infections are common."
The dog room has its own custom kennels. The kennels are different sizes to match different-sized dogs. Each kennel has half-inch tempered glass on its entry doors, strong enough to withstand 800 pounds of thrust and steel passage doors that allow the animals to play outside.
The dog area has an isolation unit for aggressive, assertive or anxious dogs, as well as for a mom with a litter of puppies, Ashton said.
The SPCA shelter could potentially take overflow from other facilities in Southcentral Alaska, but with the number of stray cats and dogs decreasing over the last few years, Ashton doesn't suspect they'll have to.
Although stray numbers have been better recently, Anchorage Animal Care and Control spokesperson Laura Atwood said they often have more stray cats than dogs.
"For some reason, and we don't know why, but fewer stray cats get claimed by their families than dogs," Atwood said. "These are typically very nice cats, so we always wonder why they're not claimed."
When Animal Care and Control uses its animal rescue partners, like the SPCA, it's to save cats or dogs with behavior or health issues -- Animal Care and Control can't keep them.
"They have the ability to accept or not accept the animal," Atwood said. "They also have the ability to do more medically, simply because of budget. These nonprofits take donations that can be used for medical."
Atwood used a dog with a broken leg as an example. "In that case, we will reach out to a rescue partner, they'll take the animal, work with a vet to have it fixed, keep it through recovery and then adopt it out."
Ashton hopes the new facility is never at capacity, but the SPCA is happy to have the option.
Three years ago, the SPCA closed down its old shelter, off Arctic Boulevard, because of safety hazards in the deteriorating building. Since then, the SPCA has been doing cat adoptions out of its administrative offices.
Two years ago the SPCA purchased the new facility and ever since it's been a work in progress. Ashton didn't immediately know how much money had been spent on the new shelter, but said kennels alone cost $45,000, not including shipping.
The new facility, at 8301 Petersburg St., will have a grand opening celebration Oct. 24 from 1 to 4 p.m. with pets ready to find a new home.