Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Animal Foundation gets $2 million boost

A $2 million grant from the Lied Foundation Trust is giving the Animal Foundation the push it needs in building a 35,000-square-foot facility across the street from its current overcrowded shelter.

"We definitely are proceeding ahead," said Mary Herro, president and founder of the Animal Foundation. Construction is scheduled to begin on the shelter in May and finish by Christmas.

The Animal Foundation has been campaigning for funds since the city agreed to provide the land across the street from its current shelter for the nominal fee of $1 a year. Sponsors have been memorializing their pets by purchasing engraved sidewalk bricks or signature tiles.

It has gained local and national attention for its efforts to end euthanasia by building a shelter large enough to accommodate the hundreds of homeless animals arriving each month.

Space is a critical need as the foundation strives to become the nation's first city-run, no-kill animal shelter by keeping unwanted animals until they are adopted.

The project's cost is estimated at $3.4 million. The foundation now has $2.6 million, Herro said. The Lied grant came just in time. The city had given the shelter until this month to have funds secured.

Herro says she's confident the community will come forth with the remaining funds.

The new shelter will be called the Lied Animal Shelter and is expected to have 300 dog runs and 200 cat cages.

Christina M. Hixson, trustee and administrator of the Lied Foundation Trust, said the Lied Foundation is proud to be part of the project.

The foundation first formed as a low-cost spay and neuter clinic in 1989. In 1995 it received a 10-year contract from the city. While the shelter expected to receive 10,000 animals each year, it received 17,000 in 1996 and 19,000 in 1997.

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