February 2, 2008

Thanks to Judy Post for documenting the big workday at the shelter on Saturday, Feb. 2nd.  Volunteers have been working every weekend getting our shelter ready to open.

January 27, 2008

Here are the cage arrangements on various walls, courtesy of the Suburban Surgical folks supplying the cages. The Stray and Adoption Kennel rooms have two walls of cages, thus two different "banks". The "extra" isolation cages are a different height than the rest of the cages in that room, but will go on the same wall. My plan is to have a carpenter build all the cages up one foot off the floor, except in the Cat Room where they will be two feet off the floor.

January 12, 2008

Thanks to Jeff Oursler for these pictures taken on Saturday. Sawnee EMC turned the power on over the weekend giving the inside a whole different look. Phone service will be established soon. Road work is being done near the park, and it should extend onto our drive to the shelter!

December 13, 2007

The ceiling tile frame is in place and waiting for ceiling tiles. The exterior is getting painted and the grounds are getting final preparation for seeding. Cages will be delivered in a week or two. Jean and Greg Schilling of Country Home Kennels have donated 200 brand new stainless steel bowls to the shelter. The finishing touches will be done soon.

November 29, 2007

We have our driveway and parking lot. Insulation is in, and sheetrock is beginning today. A/C units are in place. We are on track for a December finish!

November 24, 2007

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and remembered to give thanks for the progress on our animal shelter! These pictures show the front doors, which are still open "after hours". Another picture shows the inside framing done in the reception area with the reception counter visible in the foreground. The parking lot lights that Don Roberts got for us at $100 a piece are laying on the green grass in another picture. Lots can be seen on the inside with a personal visit, but pictures don't do it justice at this stage. It either looks like a lot of concrete block or a bunch of wood sticks in the pictures. Cages and runs are being ordered now and will take at least a month to be delivered.

November 15, 2007

The shingles are on, and rain will not slow us down. Let it rain..... please! The first picture credits our plumbers who are putting in tubs and sinks now. They have been attentive to detail, even coming out to my office to see how my tub was installed to accommodate dogs. The second picture is to show our new sidewalks. The third picture shows our beautiful shingles that have us "dried in".   The fourth shows the cat playroom with all of those windows installed.  Thank you Nancy Noblin for sponsoring the addition of this playroom! The last shows one of those elevated wash tubs for the dogs.

November 15, 2007

We have 4 of these lights which are metal halide, 3-years old and working fine. We got them for a mere $100 each! They meet county codes and probably cost $1500 each when new. We can thank Don Roberts for quick thinking and action for these lights that can be used over the parking areas. Thanks also to Don and another supporter of the Society, Joe Linzmaier, for taking their time and equipment to pick up these lights from Buckhead.

November 8, 2007

We have water and power. The septic system is complete. The pictures speak for themselves! The first picture shows what you will see from the public parking lot. The second is our front entrance. The third is the view from the animal control parking lot. The fourth is the back of the building from the stray dog kennel end, and the fifth is from the back at the conference room end. The outcropping on the back in the last picture is the cat playroom that will have big picture windows all around.

November 1, 2007

We have the lumber package on the property, and the 'human' side of the building is under construction.  The interior block walls on the 'animal' side are probably done by now.  The roof trusses are laying on the ground.  It won't be long now!  One picture gives credit to our septic system guys on the job today.

October 25, 2007

The walls are growing higher and higher!  Sawnee EMC has been working to bury the power line out to the site as well.  You are seeing the "animal" side of the building going up with the block.  The "human" side will be of wood construction.  Grass is sprouting up where Wallace Landscaping hydroseeded the property.

October 18, 2007

The walls are going up!  The water line is nearly complete, and power will be available soon.

October 11, 2007

We have concrete!  Ernst Concrete delivered yesterday, and it is still wet and shiny as of this picture.  Another picture reflects part of the landscaping donation from Wallace Landscapers.  The straw covering most of the ground in one picture is the 'hydroseeding' that awaits rain to begin growing grass.  The same picture shows the 2" water line that is being installed.  The last minute decision from EWSA to allow us to hook up has saved us thousands of dollars in the cost of drilling a well.  One other picture shows the materials and the area for the septic system at the high end of the property.  Approximately half of the septic system is in place already.  Block will be put in place very soon, and the shelter building will begin to take shape.

October 8, 2007

I went out to the property today hoping to see concrete.  Well...... not yet!  It is easy to tell where all the rooms will be now.  Look at all that nice free concrete pipe from Smith Concrete Supplies!!  The biggest piece of earth moving equipment is sitting in the parking lot of the new shelter.  One picture is taken from the opposite end of the building where animal control officers will enter the building.  Send these pictures to all your disbelieving friends.  The shelter is becoming reality.

September 27, 2007

Our formal groundbreaking ceremony was held today at the shelter's site in Rock Creek Park.  The weather was perfect and the site was in great shape.  Please click here for more pictures and a video of the actual groundbreaking moment.
September 20, 2007

Doc Mills and Kurt Krattinger gave an update on our shelter's status to the Dawson County Board of Commissioners.  Click here for the full text of Doc's speech and more pictures of the event.

Shelter construction as of September 20

What a difference! Chip and John Pearson and their company, Paramont Grading have done a fabulous job. The site work, which they totally donated, is estimated to be worth about $40,000. If all goes well, a pad should be poured next week with "free" concrete from Ernst Concrete placed over "free" gravel from Vulcan Materials. Our official groundbreaking ceremony is set for next Thursday at 11:30am.

The second picture is looking from the high point of the road/property where the service entrance will be. The next picture is looking across the Walnut tree grove that lies between the road and the shelter. The last property picture looks up at the building (stakes) from behind the shelter.

Shelter construction as of September 3

Here are pictures from today at the location of Dawson County's new animal shelter.  The weeds have been cleared again (Kurt Krattinger has cleared them at least twice before) so that a surveyor can mark off key points for the builder.  My hope is to document weekly pictures of the progress for you.  Right now it is just a patch of weeds and trees, but watch for things to take shape rapidly.

August 28, 2007

It is really happening.  Dawson County pets will no longer be transported to the Humane Society of Hall County when found by Animal Control.  Dawson County residents will decide with their wallets what kind of animal shelter it will be.  A well-funded shelter will improve the quality of life at the shelter and increase the chances for pets to be adopted.  A well-funded shelter will implement innovative educational programs to raise up generations of responsible pet owners from our local schools.  Aggressive spay/neuter initiatives will attack the root of the pet overpopulation problem.  Put your money where your heart is.

People like Michael Vick throw large sums of money around abusing animals, wondering what the big concern is over dogs fighting.  To them dogs are to be used however humans see fit, and to be discarded when no longer useful.  To us dogs are to be loved and cherished as blessings and gifts enriching our lives.  They aren't to be discarded, but sheltered from harm while suitable humans are found to be forever friends for them.  The Dawson County Humane Society wants to restore lost pets to their proper homes and relocate abandoned pets to loving homes.  Your level of support will directly influence how successful the Humane Society will be for these poor animals.

August 5, 2007

Hello everyone anxiously awaiting Dawson County's first animal shelter, 

We selected our contractor at last Thursday's Board meeting for the Dawson County Humane Society.  Pending the signing of a contract, Eric Bott and Summit Development will be building the shelter.  Able to begin within 6 weeks of signing a contract, Summit will finish within 6 months.  

It is time to get energized, ladies and gentlemen.  This is now officially "crunch time".  If you had plans to help with the construction via donation of goods or services, or if you have contacts in these areas that you think will help us, we need you now!  We also need to know people available to volunteer once the shelter is open.  The paid help will initially be a "skeleton crew", and volunteers will be critical for the comfort of the animals.

Fundraising must shift into high gear.  We have had modest-sized fundraising to date.  If not for the generosity of literally a handful of people, shelter construction would be but a dream at this date.  There are two main objectives for fundraising right now.  First, the $250,000 line of credit must be covered by the time we open in 6 months or a mortgage will dominate the operating budget for the new shelter.  Second, approximately $75,000 of cages and runs have no funding.  These are put in by a special subcontractor and are not in the the $600,000 construction project.  Remember the Room and Run Sponsorship Program?  We have sold a few rooms, but no runs have sold at all.  "Selling" all those runs would go a long way towards funding our cages and runs.  

Once this shelter is built, we must maintain an operating revenue to keep the doors open.  Remember Life Support?  The first year's budget is projected at $150,000, and the shelter has approximately 150 cages and runs planned.  If each of those 150 spaces for holding precious animal lives is sponsored with a renewable $1000 "Life Support" gift, we will have little to worry about keeping the doors open.

I will let you know when the contract is signed.  Get ready to rrrrrrrumble!!

-- Doc Mills

Eric Bott Summit Development phone 678.735.0010 fax 678.735.0001 ebott@summitgeorgia.com