BILLINGS — A Billings animal shelter is running out of space and exploring options to move into a new building as rising costs strain operations.
Administrators at Help for Homeless Pets are considering temporarily moving into the old Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter space off of Monad Road. City of Billings leaders are open to the idea but must receive approval from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality before moving forward.
See inside the Help for Homeless Pets animal shelter:
The pressure on Help for Homeless Pets has intensified since Yellowstone Valley left its original facility on Sept. 10. According to the Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter Executive Director Triniti Halverson, in the two weeks that the shelter was closed, over 100 animals were displaced in foster care or other animal shelters.
"When one of the animal organizations struggle, we all struggle," said Halverson.
The Help for Homeless Pets shelter on the South Side of Billings has operated in the same building for over 25 years. Executive Director Angie Cook told MTN that they've outgrown the space tremendously and now house 100 pets.
"The electrical isn't any good. The roof has a hole in it... With the problems that Yellowstone Valley had, of course they can't do as much as they used to. So, it's really put quite of an extra strain on our operation," said Cook.
While Cook hopes Help for Homeless Pets will eventually move into a new facility that they own, she's considering moving into the original Yellowstone Valley location for extra space. The building is owned by the City of Billings and Halverson told MTN that Yellowstone Valley is no longer affiliated with it.
Yellowstone Valley currently operates without a written agreement with the city. Its board of directors and the Billings City Council plan to discuss a new agreement at the end of the month.
"The city owns the building. We used to rent the building from the city. We did not see it as fit or safe for us to return as an organization in the time frame that we needed to be up and running," said Halverson.
In addition to an influx of animals, Cook said Help for Homeless Pets is also struggling due to the rent of its current facility. Cook said at the beginning of the year, rent increased by $1,000 a month.
Last Thursday, the Yellowstone County commissioners awarded Help for Homeless Pets with $12,000 as a short-term solution, an additional $1,000 a month.
Cook said that Help for Homeless Pets' ultimate goal is to own a new facility and return to veterinary care services, such spay and neuter clinics. The facility has already raised $150,000 in community donations.
Both Halverson and Cook agreed that the lack of veterinarian services nationwide has impacted the shelters locally.
"Nationwide, there's a shortage of veterinarians, and so that kind of produces this perceived 'too many pets.' But really, it's just a huge need," said Halverson.
Both Cook and Halverson are fundraising to support their own facilities during this time. To learn more, visit Cook's website at this link, and Yellowstone Valley's website at this link.
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