KOTA Territory humane society rebuilds after fire - KOTA Territory News

KOTA Territory humane society rebuilds after fire

After nearly six months of fundraising and gathering donations construction on the new Battle Mountain Humane Society has started. "I really think this is going to be one of the better humane societies in the state," said President and Founder Tonia Wagoner.

Wagoner says failure was never an option because these dogs depend on her. "They can't speak for themselves, we can take care of ourselves and they can't and there's no place for them to go," said Wagoner. "Fall River has no place for them to go, so without this place I don't know where all these dogs would be."

The old humane society building has been replaced by kennels. When it burned down in April there were about 60 dogs at the shelter and now there's about 80. "We've just managed to find space for them all," said Wagoner.

With medical bills piling up, and more dogs coming in all the time, raising $70,000 for a new building wasn't exactly easy. "We got all kinds of donations and we have people that we know we can call if we really get short and then of course our credit cards are all maxed," said Wagoner with a chuckle.

That $70,000 will only cover the construction and cement. Wagoner says it will probably take about $200,000 to completely finish the building, but she says it will be worth the struggle. "Yeah there's days when you don't want to do it and you wonder why you do it, but it's rewarding," said Wagoner.

Construction crew foreman Patrick Anderson says he and his crew really take pride in being a part of this project. "Every time we drive past this building, [we'll] say you know we built that you know helped out and now all those dogs have a place to go inside," said Anderson.

And the dogs show their appreciation too by letting the crewmen scratch their bellies. "It's fun to have the dogs around," said Anderson.

The building should be constructed in the next couple of weeks. Then Battle Mountain Humane Society goes back to square one financially, but their next fundraiser is October 7^th in Hot Springs.