PARADISE — No day is a quiet day when Mollie St John arrives at work. As animal control supervisor for the town of Paradise, with one officer position filled and another vacant, she has a lot to do in her compact office just off the lobby. On top of the phone ringing and her walkie talkie squawking, she also hears the intermittent barking of dogs echoing through the cinder block building.
The Paradise Animal Shelter dates to 1981. It survived the Camp Fire, as much by luck as construction, but it’s more than showing its age. Quarters are cramped: The cat room is a glorified closet, with one of its long — relatively speaking — walls devoted to storage shelves, and more often than she’d like, temporary crates in the hallway of dog kennels place canines and felines in close proximity.
That should change, though, perhaps as soon as next year. The town and the facility’s biggest booster — the nonprofit group Paradise Animal Shelter Helpers, or PASH — are partnering on an expansion that would create an area dedicated to cats, among other improvements. Town councilors allocated $600,000 to the project, which happens to match the amount raised by PASH in a fundraiser with a goal of $1 million, and at Tuesday’s council meeting expressed support for additional funding if needed once a final bid is accepted.
That’s good news for St John, in her sixth year with Animal Control including a year as supervisor, and her boss, Paradise Police Chief Eric Reinbold — as well as residents on the ridge and beyond. Paradise cooperates with shelters in Chico and Oroville, taking in pets from neighboring communities as space allows. The expansion will double the capacity for cats.
“The shelter is an old facility, and we’ve made it work over the years,” Reinbold said Wednesday, “but there really isn’t adequate space to keep the cats separated from the dogs, having a proper exam or wash area station, and it’s really difficult for the public to come in and view the animals, socialize them or spend time with them and hopefully help them get adopted out. With the aging facility, there’s quite a few updates and repairs that need to be done there.
“PASH recognized the need as well,” he continued, noting the “Home on the Ridge” fundraiser underway by the group (see accompanying box) for the project. “It’s going to give us an opportunity to get that facility up to speed and get us into the future to help support animal control needs for the town, I’m hoping, 20 or 25 years down the road.”
Plans
The town initially anticipated a cost of around $1.5 million, but when bids from contractors came in considerably higher, officials decided to have architects refine the design and estimates. That was the action the Town Council approved Tuesday. The new expectation is around $2 million.
The scope remains the same, given the needs — particularly for cats. St John explained the shelter will add a separate space including community rooms connected to the outdoors and more kennels to accommodate 16 cats single occupancy, up to two dozen with cohabitation. The capacity for dogs will remain at 19.
That’s phase one, after which staff would move offices into the new structure. Subsequently, the current building will undergo renovations to increase storage as well as add air conditioning and other upgrades. The project also will expand the parking lot and improve outside exercise areas.
“Our expansion has been talked about behind the scenes for over 10 years,” St John said. “It’s been a big goal for the shelter and the volunteer group we work with (PASH).
“This shelter wasn’t really built with the idea to house cats, because back then, feral cats were everywhere, and nobody really did anything with them. So our cats are currently lodged in what’s also our food room, our laundry room, but it’s really not designed for their housing.”
In the new area, she continued, “they’ll be separated from the dogs, so it’s a little quieter. We’ll have an exam room, which is really important — we’ll have a scale to be able to keep track of everybody’s weight, and we’ll be able to vaccinate in the exam room instead of the lobby or sink room, neither (or which is) ideal. We’ll be able to do all the treatments we do with the right kind of space.”
Animal Control also will be better able to isolate sick animals from healthy animals.
With residents rebuilding and returning to town, the volume of stray pets is approaching pre-fire levels: “The past two years, it’s pretty much doubled every year,” St John said. She estimated the shelter has taken in over 100 cats and 70-80 dogs.
Added Reinbold: “We’re excited to be able to finally get to the point where we can revamp that facility and have something nice for the community.”
Cash for PASH
“Home on the Ridge” fundraiser
Paradise Animal Shelter Helpers
530-519-4193
