Humane Society of Redmond Shelter Technician Michelle Leighty, 26, kneels beside Samantha, left, and Brandy, two St. Bernard-Great Pyrenees mixed puppies, in the courtyard of the shelter. The organization is planning to add a second building that will include a pet-friendly emergency shelter for evacuees during disasters.

When the Black Crater Fire forced hundreds of Sisters-area residents to flee their homes in July 2006, the Humane Society of Redmond took in 33 displaced pets and set up a makeshift animal shelter at the Sisters Rodeo grounds.

”It seemed to be very hard for people to have to leave (their pets) at the shelter,” Humane Society of Redmond Executive Director Jamie Kanski said. ”We had people that actually slept in their cars out there so they could be close by.”

Later this month, though, the humane society plans to break ground on a new $600,000 building that will allow the organization to better serve Central Oregon animals.

Perhaps the most notable feature of the new facility, Kanski said, is a large area designed to serve as an emergency shelter that can house evacuees with their pets.

The new building will not replace the existing shelter on Hemlock Avenue on the east side of town. Although separate from the existing building, the new facility will be located on the same property.

Kanski said the new building could be the first facility in the state that would accommodate both evacuated people and their animals during emergencies.

When the room is not needed for emergencies, the humane society plans to use it for dog training lessons and special events, and may rent it out as an animal-friendly meeting space.

The new building will also house grooming services, including a ”U-wash” station for owners who want to clean their pets themselves; a barn and corral for large animals, such as horses, that are currently sent to foster homes; and office space to allow the organization to expand.

The building is expected to be complete around July. Seed money from the Humane Society of the United States and grants are expected to cover about half the cost, Kanski said, but the rest may have to come from the community.

”This is truly a multiuse building, and it’s going to be great for the shelter and animals, it’s going to be great for the community,” she said.

Kanski said the Humane Society of Redmond began considering an animal-friendly shelter long before last year’s fire because it maintains a pet rescue team that evacuates animals during disasters.

Several members of the team flew to the Gulf Coast area after Hurricane Katrina to help rescue the pets stranded there, she said.

”We kind of saw the second catastrophe that happened with animals,” Kanski said.

The American Red Cross calls on the Humane Society of Redmond to take in pets when evacuations loom in Central Oregon, because the Redmond agency is the only local organization with a standing pet evacuation team, Kanski said.

Animals are not allowed in Red Cross emergency shelters because of health regulations, according to the agency’s Web site.

The humane society, on the other hand, has the necessary experience managing health and sanitation issues associated with animals to create a combined human and animal emergency shelter, Kanski said.

Pet owners would be required to put their pets in a crate or on a leash, and there will be designated areas outdoors to allow pets to relieve themselves. Cats would be provided with litter trays.

A place designed to house people with their pets will help the humane society be more flexible during a disaster without crowding the existing shelter.

Kanski said the humane society will continue to provide a pet intake area at shelters where animals are not allowed, along with operating its own animal-friendly shelter during emergencies.

When the humane society does not need to play host to displaced people and their pets, Kanski said she believes the space could be a vital spot for animal-oriented activities.

”There’s a lot of buildings you can rent, but not all of them are animal-friendly,” she said. ”We’ve had a lot of interest from other groups in the community, the llama groups, dog clubs, wanting to have meetings there.”

Kanski said she is optimistic about raising the money necessary to complete the new building.

She said some contractors have committed to in-kind donations of labor or materials.

”We’ve really gotten some great responses to the project already,” Kanski said. ”There’s a high level of support, so we hope donations will follow that support.”

More information

For more information or to donate to the new building, call the Humane Society of Redmond at 923-0882 or go to www.redmondhumane .org. Contributions may also be mailed to 1355 N.E. Hemlock Ave., Redmond, OR 97756.