An animal shelter built to serve Orcas for 20 years

After about a decade in the works, the Orcas Animal Protection Society (APS) shelter will open in late September or early October, vow Bob and Marsha Waunch, the driving forces behind the project.

The Waunches insist that the 4,000-square-foot shelter, which is located on Hope Lane in Eastsound, will serve the community for the next 20 years without having to be expanded. “We don’t want to go back again and ask the community for more money,” Bob Waunch said.

The price tag for the shelter is about $400,000, which is or isn’t a good deal, depending on who you are talking to. The Waunches feel they are presenting the community with a bargain, namely, a virtually state-of-the-art shelter and accompanying 1000-square-foot caretaker residence and storage area that would have cost $800,000 without the many donations of labor and materials the local APS has received.

The community raised $370,000 over the past decade to construct a new building, leaving the construction fund $30,000 short. But Bob Waunch insists that the job will be completed without the need for additional fundraising, thanks to the labor of local volunteers. However, additional financial help will gladly be accepted, he said.

The APS also has an operating fund with about $34,000 that can handle all maintenance costs through the end of 2003, according to President Marsha Waunch.

Not everyone agrees with the Waunches’ rosy take on the building project . Former board member Suzanne Vidal feels Orcas could have built an acceptable shelter that was far smaller, and for a lot less money. Recalling that the price tag for a shelter and caretaker home as recently as two years ago was about $200,000, Vidal believes it would have made more sense to build a smaller facility and use the rest of the money for maintenance.

“I researched a number of shelters and learned that a small, functional shelter was best for an island,” she wrote. “I visited Kauai and saw, first hand, a vivid example of over-building; their elaborate shelter sat empty because there were no funds to open and operate the facility...all monies had gone into construction.”

Vidal insists that her analysis is supported by several local contractors who, she writes, “warned APS they did not need and did not have the funds to erect a large, elaborate shelter.”

One shelter that’s smaller than Orcas’ new building is Friday Harbor’s, at 2700 square feet. One former APS board member says the shelter on San Juan Island would have been more than adequate for Orcas. “It has a great shelter, great policies, great success and adoption rates, and great people working it,” the source said.

Ironically, however, San Juan shelter manager Jessica Ray disagrees with that analysis. She believes a larger shelter will help all pet owners and animals in San Juan County. Ray notes that the San Juan shelter, which is currently the only one of its kind in the county, periodically becomes overcrowded because it has to accept animals from all the islands. She expects Orcas to share the burden, and even help out San Juan when things become overcrowded there.

Ray admits to being envious of Orcas, saying San Juan could use more space, particularly on those occasions when it is deluged with stray cats. But that won’t happen for the time being, she said, due to a lack of funds.

The San Juan shelter addresses periodic overcrowding by acting “creatively,” Ray said. For example, it puts cats in a storage area that opens up to an outside run.

The Waunches acknowledge there were once plans to build a smaller shelter on Orcas Island. But they believe that Orcas would have gotten a bad deal, basing their claim on extensive research into the latest trends in shelters. Much of the Orcas design is modeled on a shelter in Portland, Ore., where there is an air circulation system that eliminates animal odors, and a pleasant environment for animals that, Marsha Waunch said, makes them happy and far more likely to be adopted.

What Orcas is trying to avoid, Marsha Waunch said, is the stereotypical notion that shelters “are dirty and smelly. People can’t stand to go into these shelters, where the animals give you a pathetic look,” Marsha Waunch said. She also insists that no animals at the Orcas shelter will be euthanized except when health issues require such a step.

APS board member Barbara Wheeler believes that the Waunches have done a first-rate job. “Not a penny has been wasted,” she said, and the design is excellent.”

Laurie Michael to be shelter caretaker

The caretaker home will go to Laurie Michael, a certified pharmacy technician at Ray’s Pharmacy. Michael will feed, clean and medicate the animals in exchange for free housing. Cameras will be placed in her home, enabling her to monitor activity inside the shelter after hours

Bob Waunch said it’s a good deal for both parties. “It’s a trade out for services,” he said, “that provides affordable housing because there is no money to pay.”

The Waunches also hope to attract student volunteers to help at the shelter.

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