Huntley's Animal House Shelter fundraising for expansion project

Huntley’s Animal House Shelter has plans for a major expansion, and it is seeking funds to begin construction.

The rescue, 13005 Ernesti Road, occupies a 6,000-square-foot facility that was built in 2006.

The shelter now wants to build a 15,000-square-foot building on property adjacent to its current site to offer an on-site, low-cost veterinary clinic; more kennels and play spaces for rescued cats and dogs; a training facility; and a children’s education center.

“We have outgrown [our current building],” said Ashley Feck, the center’s development director. “We don’t have the space to rescue as many animals as we would like to.”

The shelter could take in about 5,000 additional animals on an annual basis in the larger facility, she said. This will double or triple service ability, Feck said.

The on-site vet clinic would help the shelter offset costs associated with treating its rescues and also offer community members a low-cost option for vaccinations and spaying or neutering pets, Feck said.

“We spend a lot of our resources transporting our animals to six different clinics to do things like spay, neuter and treat heartworm,” she said. “We want to have the clinic on-site so we can do our own surgeries and vet services.”

A children’s education center also is planned to accommodate birthday parties and group field trips.

The proposal is expected to cost $5 million, and the shelter must raise 30 percent of that figure before starting the project, Feck said.

The center has started a fundraiser on the crowdsourcing website Crowd Rise, and donors also have a chance to buy tribute bricks, benches and trees. Naming rights are available for donors who give specified amounts toward individual spaces.

For information, visit www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/animal-house-shelter-building-expansion.