DORCHESTER COUNTY, SC (WCSC) -
After breaking their record twice last month of how many animals they took in, one animal shelter in Dorchester County is getting a big reward.
Dorchester County Council approved to give Dorchester Paws, a no-kill shelter, $1,000,000 toward a new facility.
In the month of May, the shelter took in about 400 animals. That’s a number well over their capacity.
“Nobody could prepare us for the month of May,” Kim Almstedt, Dorchester Paw’s Executive Director, said.
Almstedt said in one day, they got 33 animals. Then just a couple of weeks later, they received 54 animals in a 24-hour period.
“We were in crisis mode,” Almstedt said.
It is situations like this – that reaffirmed they need a new shelter.
Dorchester’s Paws’ motto is to “take in every lost, abandoned and abused animal and provide them with food, shelter and medical attention until they find their forever home.” And this million dollars from the county is a kickstart to the campaign to raise money for the shelter’s new home, which will allow them to take in more animals.
“It looks like between 4-to-6-acre piece of land in Summerville and right on the main drag,” Almstedt described what she’s envisioning. “We need people to know that we have an adoption facility and that we're going to have a public spay/neuter clinic where animals can get vaccines and microchips.”
The shelter is hoping someone will possibly donate a piece of land. They are aiming to start construction on the new building within the next 18 months.
Dorchester Paws is the only open-admission shelter in Dorchester County. Almstedt said they are in desperate need for folks to adopt or foster a pet.
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