Work on animal shelter could start in spring

It’s go-time at the current Pocatello Animal Shelter after voter approved funding for a new facility.

Plans have already been drawn up and contractors hired. Work on the new shelter could begin in spring.

“We’re just really excited with what we can do with this new building,” said Animal Services Director Mary Remer.

The $2.8 million bond for building a new animal shelter passed with 71 percent approval from voters, but the shelter directors are saying the community didn’t just vote for a new building.

“Everybody had to come together to make it happen, and so that’s what just feels so good,” said Remer. “Because there’s that support. We see the support, we know it’s out there and we know people voted for the animals. And they’re not just voting for us — they voted because they wanted the animals to have better conditions.”

Remer said the current animal shelter’s poor and cracked conditions make it an expensive operation to run, easily hitting the $900,000 budget allotted to the shelter.

“You could turn the lights off in this place and you can see cracks all over the place where the air is coming in and out from the outside,” she said. “So a lot of our air conditioning and heating efficiency here is out the door, literally.”

She said the new shelter will be cheaper to run.

Remer also said this project has taken years to finally get where they are today, so the folks at the animal shelter see this as a big milestone.

Shelter officials said they take in more than 150 animals each day and 4,000 per year.