NEENAH, Wis. — With a curious sniff, Pebbles checked out the selection of toys Danielle Milewski had laid on the ground.
The pair were in a large, fenced, grassy area of the Neenah Animal Shelter on what Milewski called an “out.”
“It’s just a chance for them to get out of their kennel space, go for a walk, play in the yard,” she said. “Some times we have play groups with some of the dogs if they get along really well. It’s a chance for them to decompress a little bit.”
Milewski is a shelter technician who works primarily with dogs.
Neenah Animal Shelter recently broke ground on a new, larger facility that’s expected to be finished by the end of the July 2024.
“It’s pretty cramped. It’s a pretty small facility to try to work out of,” Milewski said about the existing shelter. “Even though we’re short staffed, we’re still kind of tripping over each other just to get our daily chores done. We’re overdue for a bigger space, for sure.”
The new 6,000-square-foot shelter is being funded through public donations and help from individuals and businesses. The shelter is still seeking another $350,000 in fundraising for the project.
Executive director Cindy Flauger said the shelter has operated in the same location for the last 62 years. The new building will include more work and administration space, a community room and other amenities.
“We’ll have a surgical suite which we do not have in this facility. We barely have an exam table for the animals we’re doing intake on,” Flauger said. “There will be a lot more possibilities for us.”
The Boldt Company is building the new shelter.
Ben Bruns, general manager of northern operations and executive vice president at Boldt, said the company and its partners are building the new shelter at a discount compared to market costs.
“The existing shelter has been there for 60 years. It’s served the community and our pets very well, but it needs to go,” Bruns said. “The new facility and the capital campaign, and all the investors in it, see this vision of what a really first-class environment can be for pets in need of care.”
Milewski said she is looking forward to the move.
“We’re going to be able to take in a few more animals which is going to help the community quite a bit,” she said. “I know there’s always a need for animals that need to be surrendered or strays coming in. Right now we’re almost at max capacity. Just having that extra space available for the community is going to be a big plus.”