THE PURR-FECT NEW PLACE. The Eau Claire County Humane Association moved into a newer, larger facility earlier this spring, which offers a more spacious environment for both animals and humans.

Eau Claire County’s adoptable animals and their human helpers now have a lot more room to run, play, relax and – in the humans’ case, at least – work, thanks to a $6.5 million new shelter.

The Eau Claire County Humane Association began transitioning into the new facility, which is next to its former home at 3900 Old Town Road, in mid-March. All of the shelter’s animals were moved into the new building, although for about 10 days staff members were working out of both facilities. Nonetheless, they say it was a welcome adjustment after roughly a decade of planning a replacement for the cramped, crumbling shelter.

“I am personally very excited for the major improvement in living quarters for all of the animals, especially our dogs,” said Addie Erdmann, the human association’s marketing and development director. “They have so much natural light now, a larger kennel space, and tons of outdoors runs where they can stay for hours at a time on nice days. I love walking by the dog run and seeing them looking outside now instead of the concrete walls in the old building. I can totally relate to them, I am also very excited to also have an actual office with natural light compared to my old bathroom office!”

“I am personally very excited for the major improvement in living quarters for all of the animals, especially our dogs.” –Addie Erdmann, Eau Claire County Humane Association

Plans for the new shelter were set to launch back in 2020, but were delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While a subsequent increase in construction costs bumped the price tag from $5.5 million to $6.5 million, fundraising was successful enough that the project was completed a year earlier than originally envisioned, Erdmann said.

“Our main focus for this new space was making a better environment for the animals that are here: more opportunities for fresh air (even for our cats, they have a catio!), natural light, and a healthier air quality to mitigate the spread of diseases, to name a few things,” Erdmann said. “Of course, with a bigger building means more space, too, and we are excited to do even more life saving than we already have!”

In addition to adopting out more than 1,100 animals annually, the ECCHA reunites hundreds of lost pets with their owners and spays and neuters hundreds more.

Now that shelter animals and staff have relocated, work is expected to begin tearing down the ECCHA’s old building to make way for expanded parking and green space. Erdmann described the former facility as “incredibly deteriorated,” which is why the organization opted for a new building rather than an addition.

A grand opening is in the works for sometime this summer, although a date hasn’t been set in case ongoing work on the site is delayed, Erdmann said. After the grand opening, the shelter is expect to be open four or five days per week. Until then, appointments must be made for adoptions, animal surrenders, or visits to the community pet pantry. Currently, there is no parking on the site because the demolition with create hazardous conditions. However, pet lovers can to continue to check out adoptable animals online at eccha.org/adopt. If the shelter has a new home, so should all the dogs, cats, and other critters inside!

Learn more about the Eau Claire County Humane Association at echha.org or facebook.com/EauClaireHumane.