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"Okanogan County is an area of tremendous need for animal welfare services. The rural landscape and harsh winters make for hard times for homeless dogs and cats. TOAR is committed to providing critical life-saving services to these precious animals as well as compassionate care, until they find permanent, loving homes."
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Heather E Lewis, Principal
Animal Arts
The Process
Okanogan County desperately needs an animal shelter to serve the community. In 2022 alone, over 1,200 dogs and 2,000 cats were cared for by private rescues. The volume of animals being served is unsustainable, and increasingly animals are suffering due to the lack of this basic resource. Additionally, there is not a 24 hour facility for law enforcement to bring animals that are found in the community or confiscated due to cruelty or neglect.
This new animal shelter will offer services beyond adoptions and lost and found housing. Low cost spay/neuter opportunities, microchips, vaccinations, animal behavior resources, and a community pet food bank are all planned for future services to be offered.
Team Okanogan is committed to raising the funds necessary and building a facility that will serve the community for years to come. We are working to secure a location, and are collaborating on a design that will enable growth as funding permits.
We need a broad base of financial support to make this happen. Local, county, and state agencies, corporations and private individual donations are all going to be crucial in the success of this project.
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Animal Arts' expertise in animal care facility architecture and design spans the veterinary and animal sheltering worlds, assistance dog care and training campuses, veterinary teaching hospitals, and animal boarding and daycare. They design small general practice veterinary clinics, expansive specialty emergency practices, and equine and large animal hospitals. Their work with animal sheltering organizations begins with needs assessments for small, nonprofits and continues up to large-scale shelter design for nationally-recognized organizations and municipalities.