BY PEPPER FISHER
The Olympic Peninsula Humane Society’s efforts to bring Bark House back online are moving forward.
Board members and staff have developed what they say is a working plan that lays out the steps they believe are necessary to make the facility safer for workers and more healthful and supportive for the dogs.
We spoke Tuesday with the Board’s new President, Paul Stehr-Green.
“We are in the process of making some physical changes to the building, and we’re also in the process of making changes to protocols and procedures. Again, primarily motivated by safety for workers and volunteers, and by increasing the level of the healthcare and the support that we give to the dogs, so they’re healthy, they’re happy, and that makes it easier to find them homes. And that’s our goal.”
They’ve announced a public forum that is happening tomorrow, Wednesday, November 13. It’s going to be at the Moose Lodge, 809 S Pine St, Port Angeles from 6-8pm.
In July, OPHS announced they would be closing the doors of its Bark House dog shelter, selling the property and combining dogs and cats at the Kitty City facility. That meant Clallam County and the cities of Sequim and Port Angeles no longer had a place to take impounded or stray dogs.
Executive Director Jason Stipp resigned soon after, leaving donors, employees and volunteers asking how the organization came to be under what Stipp described as “overwhelming financial strain”, losing $40,000 a month.
Since then, the Board has reversed its decision to close the Bark House and is honoring its contract to take in impounded dogs.
As for when they hope to have the Bark House back open for business.
“We hope to…well, in fact, the renovations are already started. Some of the ones like, sealing the the concrete floors and walls to try and protect against transmission of contagion. Some of the bigger things, we want to put in safety doors in all the kennels. That’s going to take some time. But we’re hoping to open the Bark House sometime shortly after the first of the year. And, you know, start accepting dogs into our care by shortly after the first of the year. It’s ambitious. But right now, the staff and I feel pretty strongly about that. So, everybody’s working hard.”