An open house celebration was held last week at the Bitter Root Humane Association’s (BRHA) new animal shelter located on Fairgrounds Road in Hamilton. The event served a double purpose. It included a ribbon cutting ceremony in honor of the new facility, including tours of the whole building, and an array of food and drink in honor of the organization’s 50th birthday.
The private non-profit organization was first organized in 1972. In 1984, Countess Margarite Bessenyey, the granddaughter of Marcus Daly, gave the BRHA land on Fairgrounds Road with a 99-year lease. Six years later, in 1990, the Bessenyey estate deeded the land to the organization where the current shelter is located. The new building replaces an old building on the property that had housed the shelter since 1984.
Sue McCormack, who serves on the organization’s board of directors and cut the ribbon at last week’s ceremony, said concerning the organization’s 50 years of service, “It was started by a bunch of little old ladies in 1972 and it’s still run by a bunch of little old ladies.”
Kathie Butts, President of the Board, said, “This organization has come such a long way since it was started about 50 years ago. I feel a huge sense of responsibility to honor those who have come before us and make it as good as it can be as we set the course for the next 50 years.”
McCormack said that the organization conducted a successful fundraising campaign to fund the new construction but then the Covid-19 pandemic hit and construction costs skyrocketed. As a result, the group had to take out a mortgage to finish the project.
“It takes a lot of money to take care of all these animals,” said McCormack. “It’s a constant fundraising issue.”
McCormack said that the shelter doesn’t turn anyone away and only euthanizes animals with severe health issues or extreme behavioral problems. She said the euthanization rate at the shelter is about 5%. She said they don’t just take in cats and dogs. They also take in horses, pigs, goats, geese, duck, chickens and even rabbits. McCormack said that her second year on the board they even took in an alligator.
Both McCormack and Butts called the new facility “amazing” and both praised its “scientific design,” the mitigation of smells and provision of fresh air, the ease of cleaning, the noise reduction, the glass fronted kennels and glassed-in hallways allowing safe visual access.
“We are very proud of it. We believe we have done a great service over a number of years and will continue to do so,” said McCormack.
As great as the new building is, the need is just as great. The new facility is already full. According to Butts, that has to do with a few recent incidents and the current population is quickly decreasing. On the one hand they recently received an influx of 26 dogs from the Rocky Boy Reservation. They also got a sudden influx of about 100 cats. McCormack said the dogs were mostly young dogs which are easier to adopt out than older dogs or young puppies. So, the influx is dwindling at a good rate. The sudden influx of cats is also shrinking at a good pace.
Butts said that even though the new facility only housed a couple more kennels than the old building, it contains a lot more space for holding emergency influxes like the ones from the Rocky Boy Reservation. Although it’s about the same number of kennels, the new ones are in different sizes and the larger ones can hold up to six or seven puppies. There is also room enough in isolated hallways to place temporary kennels. Then there is the huge new garage that can house a very large number of animals during a forest fire, for instance. She said during the Roaring Lion Fire the shelter received 80 animals in the space of two hours. While the room for longer term stays is about the same, the room for emergency uses has increased dramatically.
“This new building is doing everything we wanted it to do and more,” said Butts. “I don’t see a time when companion animals are not going to need a place to stay while they are waiting for a new home. I don’t see a place in the immediate future where our companion animals will be taken care of by our local government or our state government. I just don’t think the funds are there to do that. I see how important our business is for the Bitterroot valley and I’m just really proud to be part of it.”