Re:“,” Nov. 22 news story.
Prior to moving into our new facility, we were known as Table Mountain Animal Center. Founded in the 1970s, TMAC was built as a dog pound, serving Jefferson County and the municipalities within the county. As animal welfare progressed, TMAC moved beyond being a dog pound to being a humane shelter for abandoned, abused and orphaned animals. But the building deteriorated to the point where it needed to be demolished (and, in fact, was flattened just weeks after we moved).
Residents, community leaders, volunteers, donors, government workers, business owners and elected officials supported the construction of a new animal shelter for Jefferson County.
The funding plan for the $9.7 million construction was a mix of public and private funds — of which $1.5 million was to be donated by private citizens. As stated by our board president, we can’t “pinpoint one exact thing” as to why efforts to raise the $1.5 million fell short. It certainly was not for lack of effort. In fact, the former Foothills Animal Foundation can be credited with helping to create an animal shelter that no government entity could have, or would have, built on its own.
Did the cities commit to paying the $1 million shortfall on the building debt? Yes. Is $179,000 per municipal entity a big bill, especially for small cites like Wheat Ridge? Certainly. But I encourage our community and our elected officials to consider this: Since moving into the new shelter in August 2010, we have taken in nearly 40,000 homeless animals. One million dollars of debt divided by 40,000 animals is a cost of $25 per animal. And that is a (life) savings and a (community) value we can all be proud of.
Heather Cameron is executive director of the Foothills Animal Shelter.
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