Animal Shelter Hosts Open House to Showcase New Look
There are lots of cats and kittens at Stephen Memorial looking for a new home.
Oskaloosa, IA, December 1, 2011- The Stephen Memorial Animal Shelter (SMAS) will be hosting a holiday open house on Saturday, December 17, 2011 from Noon-3pm at their facility on 2299 235th St. The event is a chance for the public to have a look at the recent improvements in the arrangement of the shelter facilities and to help the SMAS give a name to a recently built enclosure tailored specifically to housing kittens that are residing at the animal shelter.
The SMAS recently made some significant changes to the arrangement of the shelter as a means of making their current facility more efficient and inviting to visitors that come through the doors. “The major change we made was moving all of the employee offices to the adjacent modular building and moving our stray cat holding area to the main shelter building” says Lindsey Sime, Executive Director. “With an actual designated lobby area, we now have plenty of space for visitors and office staff alike to interact without feeling cramped in a small office.”
The unveiling of a new 8’ x 8’ kitten enclosure will be the highlight of the holiday open house. “We get close to 100 kittens coming through our doors each year. With the current setup of the cat housing area, kittens and adults had to live among each other.” Sime says, “Living in a group housing situation in an animal shelter is already very stressful for adult cats especially. Living with about ten rambunctious kittens wrestling around and constantly roughhousing just adds to the stress.” The new enclosure will allow kittens to be housed separate from adults, giving the adults a chance to relax and adjust to shelter living while still allowing the kittens to socialize with each other and burn off all that extra energy. The holiday open house will feature a contest to name the new kitten enclosure. A $1.00 donation will get your idea in the running. The winning name will be displayed on a plaque attached to the enclosure. The name will be chosen by shelter staff and by Ruth and Jerry Zear, who provided the majority of the funding for this project.
The holiday open house will also feature door prizes, generously provided by Scentsy. As always, adoptable animals will be available for viewing and adoption as well. Plenty of staff will be on hand to assist visitors and answer questions. While there is no cost to attend the event, donations are always appreciated and will go directly to caring for the almost 1,000 animals that come through the doors of the SMAS each year. For more information about this event or the Stephen Memorial Animal Shelter, you may contact the shelter by phone: (641) 673-3991, email: smasadoptions@mahaska.org, or by visiting their website: http://smas.mahaska.net.
