Olympic Peninsula Humane Society leaders announced on July 10 plans to close its Bark House campus at 1743 Old Olympic Highway in Port Angeles by the end of August.
Jason Stipp, executive director of the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society, wrote in a press release that they made the difficult decision because of unsustainable high operating costs, an unprecedented number of animal surrenders and the ongoing costs for running two campuses.
Kitty City, a dedicated shelter for cats at 91 South Boyce Road in Sequim will remain open and be renovated to accommodate dogs to “help OPHS stabilize our financial position and ultimately improve the housing quality for the dogs in our care,” he wrote.
“By reducing operational costs, OPHS can enhance its service to the community and better fulfill its mission of rescuing and saving the lives of homeless pets,” he wrote.
“Our goal is to have all dogs adopted or transferred to other high-save rescue organizations by the end of August 2024.”
OPHS will not take in any dogs at this time or in the foreseeable future, staff report.
Marti Oldham, OPHS board president, said in an interview that Aug. 30 is not an expiration date for the dogs, as they intend to close The Bark House after all the dogs have been housed or relocated.
“We’re not going to euthanize any animal to make space,” she said.
“It’s one reason we’re at over capacity, because we don’t [euthanize animals]. A lot of these dogs come from circumstances that are horrendous. We see the worst of the worst cases that require a lot of time and training and love and medical treatment and rehab and are in our care for a long time.”
As of July 11, The Bark House had 59 dogs with capacity for 40, and more being fostered at homes.
Stipp wrote that “despite being at or over capacity, we remain committed to not euthanizing adoptable animals for space.”
“Many of the animals brought to shelters need medical intervention or training to be deemed safe for adoption, which extends their stay and adds to our financial burden,” he wrote.
Oldham said their goal is to adopt as many dogs out as possible by reaching out to local rescues before widening their circle to neighboring counties and then states.
“Unfortunately, the majority of those rescues are in similar situations,” she said. “It’s gonna take some time.”
Impact
OPHS is contracted by city and county agencies like Clallam County Sheriff’s Office to house impounded dogs and cats, and handle animal licensing.
Clallam County undersheriff Lorraine Shore said the announcement came as a surprise and the Sheriff’s Office now doesn’t have a facility to place dogs as it’s one of their largest calls for service.
“I think (the decision) shocked the community at large,” she said. “It impacts everyone.”
Shore said deputies have been instructed not to seize any dogs at this time.
She said a work session is planned for July 22 with Clallam County commissioners, other affected agencies, and animal organizations to determine next steps.
Deputy Chief John Southard with Sequim Police Department said they pay to take each dog into the Humane Society and do not have an annual lump sum contract. He said it’s not common for them to take a dog in, and they’ll know more about the impact of the facility’s closure after the county meeting.
Barb Brabant, president of Welfare for Animals Guild (WAG), a Sequim area rescue, said the closure will have a huge impact on the county and smaller rescues with nowhere for law enforcement and the public to take a stray dog, nor owners that need to rehome their dogs because of life changes.
Brabant said WAG has been at capacity for more than a year now.
“As one dog is adopted, there are several waiting to take their place,” she said.
“We take phone calls every day regarding a lost dog, found dog or a dog that needs a new home. It’s really sad to have to say ‘No,’ but when our facility is at capacity as well as our foster homes, there is no alternative.”
Brabant said with the closure, the community will be called on to fill the gap until county officials find a stop-gap.
“When someone finds a dog, they will need to keep it safe until we all find out where it belongs, unless it’s been dumped and then what?” she said.
“If you find a dog, take it to a vet office, call a rescue or animal control, and check for a microchip. It is a huge help when a pet is micro-chipped so we can locate where the lost pet belongs quickly.
“We are facing a crisis in Clallam County and the ones most affected are our vulnerable pets.”
Oldham encourages community members to consider adoption from any of the local rescues, not supporting backyard breeders as they can contribute to local pet overpopulation, and spaying and neutering pets.
Timeline
The Bark House opened in May 2016 and Kitty City opened in June 2022 with both facilities reopening to the public in May for walk-in adoptions following various closures due to the pandemic, and cases of canine parvovirus and the feline panleukopenia virus that led staff to close facilities to the public.
The organization reported in June they’ve since found no traces of the cat and dog viruses and have taken extra measures to prevent them.
On Facebook, OPHS staff wrote they are “redirecting our efforts towards renovating Kitty City to create an improved environment for the dogs in our care. This renovation will allow us to provide a healthier, cleaner, and less stressful space, enhancing our ability to serve both the animals and Clallam County.”
Oldham said their plan for now is to tentatively sell The Bark House property and build a new dog building adjacent to Kitty City.
“Ideally, we would like to (sell) once we get the animals to other high-save shelters,” she said.
“We’ll shut it down, get it cleaned out and move all operations to Kitty City.”
The former Calvary Chapel Sequim building was renovated to house cats and administration, Oldham said, but not dogs.
She said the approximate timeline to construct a dog building on the campus is two years.
As for choosing which campus to relocate to, Oldham said The Bark House campus’ conditional use permit required them to remove two buildings after a set amount of time, and a proposed building for veterinarian services and administration was estimated at about $2.5 million.
They opted to purchase and renovate the Calvary Chapel building for a little more than $1 million, she said.
She added that having two campuses, however, has shown it’s not fiscally viable.
Considerations
Stipp wrote that shelters across the country are struggling with a historic number of animal surrenders after the pandemic.
Oldham said OPHS has struggled with donations as prices go up, and they’ve seen a “drastic rise of (dog) surrenders from the public and animal control.”
“For the past few years, we’ve consistently been at or over capacity and very rarely have an open kennel, which is a hardship for the community and animal control,” she said. “There’s no place to put them.”
OPHS had hired more employees, but with layoffs and positions cut to help offset rising costs and less than expected donations, Oldham said they still run a skeleton crew of 22 staff to cover operations.
OPHS does not have debt, she said, but they would if they continued on with both facilities.
“We have reserves to keep us going but after five months, reserves are very low now,” Oldham said. “If we continue as we are, we will have to close both locations.”
Board members started considering The Bark House closure about a month ago, she said, because they were “at a point where we’re not going to recover if we don’t stop now.”
“This allows us to continue saving lives until we can get back on our feet and then consolidate and make some money-saving changes and make everything more streamlined,” Oldham said.
Along with cuts, board members and staff reached out to previous board members, larger donors and financial experts to go through their finances.
“Between all of us and fielding all of their suggestions, talking through every single scenario, we just kept coming back to this,” Oldham said.
“Unfortunately, it’s drastic and it’s sudden for us and our staff. It’s scary and heartbreaking. It’s a position none of us have ever had to consider before.”
She added that they “want to take care of the animals and the organization so it will continue to be around another 75 years.”
Contact
OPHS staff said they’re working to answer community questions and it will take time to address them and put them on their website at ophumanesociety.org.
They encourage community members to ask questions by email to info@ophumanesociety.org or call 360-457-8206.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ The Olympic Peninsula Humane Society will close its dog facility The Bark House east of Port Angeles tentatively by the end of August and transition all operations to its Kitty City in Carlsborg. Leaders cite costs of running two facilities and a high number of surrendered dogs as main reasons for the closure.
