Fundraising begins to construct new Jacksboro Animal Shelter

The Friends of the Jacksboro Animal Shelter announced two fundraisers as they approved the payment of an architect for renderings of a new animal shelter during their meeting Thursday, Feb. 20

The friends of the animal shelter agreed to pay architect Rossi Smith $2,700 for her services.

“Hopefully within two weeks we will have the plans,” Star Kinder, with the organization, said. “Then we are going to get started hard on raising money.”

She said the new shelter will be about 3,000 square feet and designed with present and future needs in mind.

“(It will include) separate cat colonies for adoptable cats, large canine kennels with direct access to outdoor exercise, get acquainted meeting rooms for adopters and pets, separate entrance for admission of animals to the shelter and private secure room for night drop-offs of animals by law enforcement,” Kinder said.

She added it will also include separate isolation rooms, a lobby/reception area with a service desk, a community room for meetings and trainings, a full kitchen, a commercial dishwasher for bowls, a refrigerator and a washer and dryer.

“It will be designed to accommodate a wide variety of storage needs including animal supplies, food, equipment and staff supplies,” Kinder said.

She added the current shelter would become a quarantine facility for animals which need to be observed.

The new building will be built on the land directly West and in front of the current shelter located 1070 U.S. 380 West. Friends of the Jacksboro Animal Shelter President Kim Gibby said the county commissioners gifted the land to the city, on the condition that a new shelter was built, after the property was foreclosed on.

The Friends of the Jacksboro Animal Shelter will also host a brick fundraiser which will allow individuals to purchase a brick to place in a sidewalk around the new shelter.

A four by eight brick with no clipart will cost $100 and can include three lines of text with 20 characters per line. A four by eight brick with clipart chosen from 10 provided options will cost $125 and can include three lines of text with 15 characters per line. An eight by eight brick with no clipart will be $200 and can include six lines of text with 20 characters per line. An eight by eight brick with clipart will cost $225 and can include four lines of text at 20 characters per line. An eight by eight corporate logo brick will cost $300 and will be logo only.

All brick purchases or sponsorship levels will be considered a tax deductible donation.

For more information about the shelter project and the fundraisers, contact Kinder at 940-229-8053 or by email at skinder@cityofjacksboro.com or contact Joe Mitchell at 940-867-6631 or by email at joe.mitchell@legacytexas.com.

For the full story, see the Wednesday, Feb. 26, edition of the Jacksboro Herald-Gazette.