Animal Friends Alliance broke ground Thursday, August 26, on a new $2.8M expansion to its Taft Hill Campus, 2200 N. Taft Hill Road in Fort Collins. This expansion will unify Animal Friends Alliance’s sheltering programs, create a welcoming community space, and serve even more homeless animals and pet families in the Northern Colorado community.
Animal Friends Alliance’s capital campaign, Bringing Paws Together, has raised over $1.6 million toward construction of the new and renovated shelter facility. The new shelter building will house Animal Friends Alliance’s new cat shelter, a new Enrichment Center, central lobby and Community Room. The cat shelter will have 11 colony rooms, allowing for cage-free living for feline residents and more interaction between cats and potential adopters. The additional community spaces will provide room for public education, special events, and additional training for shelter animals. The building project will also include renovation of existing structures at Animal Friends Alliance’s Taft Hill Campus, which will be used for additional animal care facilities and staff workspaces.
“We’re thrilled to take this next step toward the completion of our new shelter,” said Sarah Swanty, executive director of Animal Friends Alliance and co-chair of the Bringing Paws Together campaign. “Not only will this new facility allow us to be more efficient with our resources and provide even better care for the animals in our shelter, but it will allow us to create welcoming spaces to educate and support members of our community.”
Animal Friends Alliance will also continue to operate out of its Mulberry Campus, 2321 E. Mulberry St., following the construction of the new shelter. “Our Mulberry Campus is the current home for our Community Pet Resources programs, including our subsidized spay/neuter and vaccine clinic, our Kibble Supply Pet Food Pantry, and our Community Cat Program. Moving all adoptions to the Taft Hill Campus will give these vital community programs room to grow as well,” Swanty explained.
Construction on the new facility is expected to be complete in August of 2022. For more information on the new shelter and capital campaign, please visit BringingPawsTogether.org.
Photo: Compelling Images Photography
Staff and Board Members of Animal Friends Alliance break ground on a new shelter building on August 26, 2021. The existing Animal Friends Alliance dog shelter is in the background. (From left: Director of Community Engagement Jordan Dunn, Board Secretary Kirk Reimann, Board Member Robert Gregory, Board Member Jenna Reidi, Board Member Kathy Dalton, Executive Director Sarah Swanty, Board President Kris Cafaro, Board Member Holly Ashby, Director of Philanthropy Megan Streetman, Board Member Simone Clasen, Board Member Lisa Maggio-Golicher, and Director of Operations Mariah McCulley)