PORT HADLOCK — Five acres of forestland have been donated to the Humane Society of Jefferson County. The parcel, located on state Highway 19 across from Irondale Road, is the prospective future home of a new shelter.

The property was donated by two veterinarians, Dr. Joyce Murphy and Dr. Virginia Johnson, who have worked with the humane society over the years.

“It’s a great central location for a new shelter,” Murphy said. “It is on the main road, easy to find and is a good spot for visibility for the shelter so citizens can find it. The humane society desperately needs to expand to serve a growing county.”

The humane society is currently working on its wishlist and is very early in the planning process, said Jen Dupree, director of Humane Society of Jefferson County WA (HSJCWA).

Early estimates for the facility have it sitting around 12,000 square feet, a sizable expansion to the current facility, which is about 2,000 square feet.

“That’s really just a guess at this point, based on number of kennels that we would need” Dupree said. “We are going to be working, most likely, with Shelter Planners of America, to do a larger, more-detailed feasibility study, as far as the growth of the community and the areas we already serve, to get a better estimate of the size that we need.”

HSJCWA also is considering other services that might make sense for the organization, Dupree said.

“Some other services that are sorely lacking in Jefferson County and the surrounding area is a 24/7 emergency clinic for animals,” Dupree said. “Currently you have to go all the way down to Poulsbo.”

The humane society is looking at partnering with other organizations in the area to provide the service.

HSJCWA hopes to keep the property mostly forested for environmental reasons, and to create trails for the dogs to walk on, Dupree said.

The property has been connected to water and electricity, and the humane society is taking its next steps to obtain a conditional use permit from Jefferson County, and to get a percolation test on the property to see if septic is viable.

Capital fundraising is planned to begin next year, Dupree said, with the assistance of Jan Halliday, their fundraiser for operations, and Bob Podrat, who has agreed to provide strategic planning for the next three years.

Cramped quarters

HSJCWA has been pressing up against space limitations in its current facility, said Dupree, who sometimes shares her office with cats when the main shelter overflows, or with dogs who need a break from the main space.

“We are constantly at capacity or over capacity,” Dupree said. “There’s a huge need to grow.”

The current shelter, located on 3 acres at 112 Critter Lane in Port Townsend, has 10 dog kennels and can house 40 cats, Dupree said.

“The actual location is not the best for an animal shelter, with it being located between the gun range and the transfer station,” Dupree said.

The shelter is limited with its refrigeration and food preparation space and only has one sink. Dupree said the shelter also has no space where sick or injured animals can be quarantined.

The shelter has only one bath, “sandwiched between a wall and a single washer-dryer,” Dupree said.

Expansion on the current property has been limited by wetlands on the property and the fact that the current shelter is owned by Jefferson County, Dupree said.

The humane society board approved the purchase of an additional 40-by-14-foot prefabricated shed, along with kennels needed to house cats received at the shelter as a stop-gap measure for its capacity problems.

Currently, cats and dogs are housed in the same building, which can be stressful, Dupree said.

However, the project is facing delays as questions about septic capacity and commercial permitting are sorted out. The prefabricated project may ultimately prove unfeasible, Dupree said.

The humane society plans to move the structure to the new property in the case that the building is installed, Dupree said.

The humane society receives most cats and dogs that Jefferson County officials pick up. If nobody claims the animals, they are inoculated, chipped, spayed, neutered, housed, fed and cared for until they are adopted.

The humane society also receives feral cats and surrendered cats and dogs, licenses dogs, chips animals and provides services to low-income pet owners, and it performs some euthanasia and pet cremation, along with a number of other services.

The Humane Society of Jefferson County WA is a 501(c)(3) organization that receives most of its funding from individual donors, grants and a $50,000 stipend from Jefferson County, granted annually. HSJCWA is not affiliated with the Humane Society of the United States.

________

Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@sequimgazette.com.