By Emily Kresse | [email protected]
The lasting effects of the structures affected by the 2008 flood are littered around Iowa City, but a year ahead of schedule, the new Iowa City Animal Care Adoption Center has been paid off, thanks to vast community support and donors.
Christina Kimerle, the executive director of the Friends of the Animal Center Foundation since January 2015, said the fundraising effort was powered by generous community members.
Mayor Jim Throgmorton was on hand to receive a $400,000 check at the grand opening, which completed the $1 million campaign. He said it was both “an impressive fundraising effort” and personally meaningful to be a part of the ceremony.
“My wife and I have rescued three cats and a dog from the shelter over the past 10 years,” he said. “And the coordinator [of the animal shelter] is our neighbor.”
The animal center was forced to close its Kirkwood Avenue location and take up emergency shelter at the Johnson County Fairgrounds after the flood destroyed its facility. It then moved to a temporary facility on Sand Road, but as of September 2015, the center has been housed in its new home at 3910 Napoleon Lane.
Liz Ford, the city animal services coordinator, started working at the center before the flood, and she has helped oversee the transition to the new facility. The new location is updated and more efficient than the previous one, she said, which makes caring for a larger volume of animals easier.
“This facility is just so much nicer; it’s hard to even remember how crammed we were and overcrowded in an old, antiquated facility,” she said. “It’s a really comfortable and inviting environment, so we have a lot more visitors, and a lot more adopters, and a lot more public support than we’ve ever had before because it’s such a fun place to come to.”
Now, it’s time to look for further improvements to the building and grounds, Kimerle said.
“There’s been talk of an off-leash dog yard for the volunteers and also for meet-and-greets. We’ve also talked about doing an honor and memorial type garden outside of where the cat colonies are,” she said.
The animal center wants to focus on the same efforts being made by other animal shelters across the country, namely, preventing owners from having to give their pets up for adoption.
“We want to help people with responsible pet ownership. So if they aren’t able to afford dog food for a little bit, maybe we can help them get dog food so they don’t have to get rid of their family pet,” Ford said. “Many shelters are looking to not just put a Band-Aid on it, but to maybe try to help people before they give up their pet.”