DILLON - For a kitten named Socks, the Beaverhead Animal Shelter has been home for a few weeks now.
He seems to really enjoy it, but when this shelter gets cold, he’s going to get cold, because their furnace is broken and they need help from their human friends to try to get a new furnace for this place so Socks and his pals can stay warm.
“It’s imperative. We really can’t do without it coming up in the winter for sure,” said shelter Executive Director Amber Wagoner.
The Dillon shelter recently found out their 17-year-old furnace is broken beyond repair.
“We have plug-in heaters all over the place which skyrockets the electric bill and obviously a safety issue,” said Wagoner.
The shelter is seeking donations to raise the $5,000 needed for a new furnace. Keeping the shelter warm is important to the health of the animals.
“Some of them come from pretty bad places and some rough backgrounds and we get to see them kind of open up and get matched with good families,” said Animal Care Director Catarina Borello.
Last year, this no-kill shelter was able to adopt away 294 cats and 174 dogs and spayed and neutered 477 animals.
“I believe we have a great reputation, there are lots of adopters that share their stories,” said Wagoner.
The nearly 30-year-old shelter has had more problems recently than just a broken furnace. Wagoner hopes to raise money for a new shelter over the next three years, which would help them do a better job.
“We’re just putting band aids on it right now,” said Wagoner. “And we can focus more of our time saving these animals and homing these animals rather than fixing the shelter.”
