NORFOLK, Va. — The Norfolk SPCA is breathing new life into the shelter's dog kennel space.
It started an $88,000 project that includes new paint, floors, ceilings, lighting and doors for the kennel space.
The cost of the renovation is paid for by private donors, the Hampton Roads Community Foundation, and Provost Construction Company Funding.
The shelter's Executive Director Kimberly Sherlaw, claims the new features haven't been replaced in at least thirty years.
"Which is really long overdue,” said Sherlaw.
She said over the past five years, dog adoptions dropped from 1,700 to around 900 each year, but canine adoptions started to rise again since the beginning of 2019.
This renovation kicked off just last week, and Sherlaw said everybody's just chipping in to make it happen.
She thinks they'll see an increase in adoptions when the project is all done, hopefully by April 1st.
"The environment is so important that our dogs are happy they're healthy,” said Sherlaw. “(there are) So many homeless pets and animals bring so much to our lives and so connecting people and connecting pets together is so important for us.”
None of the other pets are affected by the remodel, even though the adoptable dogs are temporarily displaced.
"It's been ok. We have an amazing community that's stepped up. We have a lot of families that are fostering for us,” said the shelter’s Operations Director, Melissa Heard.
When it's all finished, this shelter will have nearly double the space for adoptable canines going from 15 kennels to 30 kennels.
"Oh we're super excited!” said Heard.
