Aurora Adopt-A-Pet to raise funds for expansion project

Aurora Adopt-A-Pet is hoping to expand its shelter to accommodate rescued cats and dogs as they wait for their forever homes. The shelter is seeking to raise $400,000 to $450,000.
Shelter president Shannon Goltz said the campaign is now underway with the intention of giving more animals the chance of a better life that isn’t spent in a kennel.
“I wanted everybody to know that our plans are moving forward and we’re very hopeful that we could get this addition in a short time, so that we can start helping the people who need help in our little town and in our small towns around us,” Goltz said.
Once they reach their intended goal, the new addition will be built on the west side of the current facility.
“What we’ll do is we’ll do sections, so once we put in the new addition and get the insides of it done, then we’ll be able to move all the cats over to the new area,” Goltz said. “We will be able to move the quarantine dogs in here (in the current facility) for a little bit. We will redo the quarantine floor and the surrounding area. Once they’re done, we will put them back. Then we will start on the other area.”
One of the necessary additions Goltz noted was new quarantine rooms for animals that enter the shelter.
“Every cat or dog that comes into our shelter has to be placed in quarantine for seven to ten days,” Goltz said. “If they’re sick, usually within five days, we’ll notice if they are having symptoms of Coccidia, a bacterial infection, an upper respiratory infection, anything like that. We don’t want to move any animals into our general population, otherwise that sickness could affect everybody and then it would cost a lot and could harm them.”
Some animals, such as cats that have tested positive for FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus), will need to have their own quarantine space as they can never go into the general population. Goltz emphasized that FIV-positive cats are adoptable and won’t impact them from having a normal lifespan.
“In the new building, they will have their own space and a Catio that they can go out the window and spend some time outside,” Goltz said. “They get along great together, which we’re very blessed that they do.”
The room where dogs are currently quarantined will have its floors redone after the new addition is built.
“We’ll freshen it up and get the floors redone and get it better quality for the dogs,” Goltz said.
Along with housing its current population, which includes upwards of eight dogs and 24 to 30 cats, the animal shelter has taken in animals brought in by the Aurora Police Department and Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.
“Our law enforcement brings in animals while their owner is jailed,” Goltz said. “On November 30th our quarantine was filled with four strays. Two of those have not been picked up yet. We are now going towards what the city ordinance is and what the state ordinance is and it’s a five-day hold where we were a 10-day hold before.”
Aurora Adopt-A-Pet also receives calls from other counties as well.
“We get all these calls, not only from Hamilton County, but from all over, everywhere,” Goltz said. “We serve Hamilton County first, if we have room, we will take those cats. If we don’t have any waiting list from Hamilton County, then I open up to the waiting lists from Central City or from Sutton.”
For the general population of cats, a giant enclosure will be established to allow the cats to roam about with one or two quads for cats who are not be able to get along with others. Several cats are often contained in kennels due to the current lack of space within the originally designated lobby turned cat room.
“Most of the cats will be able to stretch and because these are small and they’re living their life until they’re adopted,” Goltz said.
To protect kittens from adult illnesses, they are currently being fostered outside of the shelter by local families. Two small rooms in the new addition will be designated as a birthing room for pregnant cats and a kitten room for kittens too small to play in the cat community room.
With the expansion of the general population for cats, more enrichment rooms will be added that will keep every cat active and not inside a kennel.
“All of this will become enrichment,” she said. “This will be a great place for them to learn how to sit and stay. If it’s rainy, (Samantha Wize) can bring in a dog and they can play for a little bit so that they’re not in their individual kennels all day long.”
A storage room for food and litter will be put in the new addition, as well as a utility room, office space and a work room to wash bowls, litter pans and toys as well as for prepping food and medicine for the animals.
The facilities will also have additional new entrances designated for volunteers and a new entrance for visitors.
“We will still have this entrance so that volunteers can go in, because we do have volunteers that just volunteer just for cats or volunteers that volunteer just for dogs, if they’re walking them or cleaning kennels,” she said. “We’ll have an entrance that will just be for volunteers, but then the (main) entrance will be ADA compatible... We will continue the sidewalk so that there’s a sidewalk for everybody if they need to go into the other building.”
Throughout the year, the organization plans to host several fundraisers to get the community involved with the new addition.
“We’re doing a giving tree (until Jan. 1) at Aurora Mall, and IAMs has agreed to do a giving tree for us and we’re collecting supplies and monetary donations at both locations,” Goltz said.
The shelter’s annual chili feed will take place on Saturday, March 14, with plans for a possible collaboration with Pizza Hut. Proceeds from the night will go to the shelter.
“There is a possible petting zoo coming in the spring that will be at the fairgrounds and the donations from taking pictures will come to us,” Goltz said. “We will have our annual garage sale. We did human bingo at A’ROR’N Days. We will be doing that again.”
Aurora Adopt-A-Pet is always on the lookout for volunteers who could take time out of their day to clean kennels, feed and enrich the animals.
“We can always use (volunteers) not only to help clean, but we can always use people who want to come and brush or socialize with a cat that’s not as friendly as we would hope it would be, but to help get it to the point where it’s adoptable,” Goltz said. “We always need those volunteers in the shelter, but we always need fosters.”
Supporters can make checks payable to Aurora Adopt-A-Pet and mail them to Goltz at 718 L Street, Aurora, NE 68818.
“If you donate $250 or above, then I will engrave a paw,” Goltz said. “When you walk into the office area, my husband’s going to paint a giant mural of a tree. So then the people who sponsor $250 or above will have their name engraved on a paw print and those will be the leaves of it.”
Goltz said every dollar raised will go towards improving the life of every cat and dog at Aurora Adopt-A-Pet.
“Our goal is to help as many animals as we can whether they’re suffering or if they’re running and lost,” Goltz said. “Our goal is to help as many people as we can and many animals that we can in Hamilton County. With the facility we have right now, it’s a wonderful facility, but times have changed and more and more people need to be helped and we can’t because we don’t have the space and that’s where we’re at for wanting to add this addition.”
For updates on events and animals currently in the shelter, visit the Aurora Adopt-A-Pet Facebook page.