Anticipating new families, animals wait for adoption at remodeled Cedar Bend

The Cedar Bend Humane Society is all remodelled for a temporary home to many furry friends of all sizes and ages. Though the adoption center is open Tuesday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the office and services remain open every day of the week 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Along with the remodelling, animals no longer sleep on the cold concrete floor, but rather on mini cots called kuranda beds and little blankets that keep them nice and warm.

There are three “cat rooms” where the adult to elderly cats are divided up into two small/medium rooms that have two to three ceiling-to-floor windows. These two rooms are filled with scratching posts, blankets and boxes and ledges to climb on and sleep on.

The kittens and younger cats are separated from the larger cats in a smaller room filled with toys and objects to climb.

Where the cats have free range in their rooms, the rabbits are in their own cages, all of which are located in a small room just across the hall from the cats.

Every, or mostly every, dog has its own kennel in the dog room that is home to the large dogs up front and the little ones in the back smaller room, where they have some more room to stretch their little legs in their private section.

Since the remodel, the kennels are a little bit larger and have a separate doggy door for the larger dogs that leads to a smaller private section for them to take a quick nap in quiet or just get away from the goo-goo eyed people constantly walking through.

Along with the new kennels and rooms, there aren’t as many “prison cell” bars that were used to decorate the kennel’s doors. Now most of the kennels have see-through hard plastic/glass doors. The only kennels with bars at the newer building are those that belong to a handful of cats that don’t like to be in a cat room, the rabbit cages and the last two or three inches from the bottom of the small kennels that belong to the small dogs that are right up at the front of the dog room.

According to the Cedar Bend’s website, cedarbendhumane.org, they “take in roughly 10,000 animals every year. [We] have roughly 50-70 kennels for dogs that still need beds.”

Cedar Bend worker Caitlyn said that “currently there are about 130 dogs and around 27 to 30 dogs in the shelter, and between 15 to 17 workers at the shelter.”

With the holidays arriving, the Humane Society’s little and big furry animals are ready to meet new owners and new homes. ‘Tis the season to adopt, especially during their Christmas Open House; an adoption marathon sometime this December.

The only way the Cedar Bend can take care of all of these animals is due to the donations of people and the community. They are always looking for donations and are very thankful for them.

This year on their wishlist are dog beds (kuranda beds), newspapers, dog food, laundry detergent and other cleaning supplies.

They are also looking for “wet cat food, towels, blankets and some office supplies,” Caitlyn said.

Along with donations, the Cedar Bend also relies on help from volunteers. The process to becoming an official volunteer has changed. Now you must go online and fill out an application, go through a training class to become familiar with the shelter and learn how things are done, then pay a $15 fee.

The one dog that is considered to be “urgent” is named Jasmine, who is a mixed adult dog that has been at the shelter since June and is becoming restless in the cage and excited to find a new home.

“Once an animal goes up for adoption, they stay there until they are adopted. We don’t euthanize unless an animal becomes really sick or is aggressive,” said Caitlyn on what actually happens when animals are at the shelter for long periods of time.“Urgent” is basically used for when an animal is at the shelter for long lengths of time over several months.

Anyone looking for an affordable option to bringing home a pet for the holidays should stop by the Cedar Bend Humane Society.