Humane Society gaining space

A medical center and kennel are planned to help cope with a seemingly ceaseless influx of stray and abandoned animals.

By SHARON TUBBS

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 3, 2000

CLEARWATER -- Rick Chaboudy can attest to the crowded conditions at the Humane Society of North Pinellas, especially when he's sitting in his own office.

A cat nursing her 2-week-old kittens sits in one area, while five newborn pups cuddle nearby.

They're in his office because there's not space for them anywhere else, Chaboudy says.

It won't be that way for long, though.

The Humane Society is building a new kennel and a medical center for spaying and neutering. The free-standing buildings are expected to be completed by late January or early February, Chaboudy said.

"Animals that need to be in a nursery type setting . . . we'll have more places to put them," Chaboudy said.

The expansion has been on the shelter's list of priorities for the past two years as executives struggled to decide the most economical approach to meet space needs, Chaboudy said.

Now, they have decided on a $750,000 expansion project that calls for a 2,000-square-foot medical center. Workers have performed neuter and spay surgeries in a small office area since the shelter began offering the service five years ago, Chaboudy said.

"By doing this, we're rearranging some of the areas we have now," he said.

Chaboudy did not know the dimensions of the kennel building. As part of the expansion, though, the Humane Society will add 40 cat cages and 40 dog kennels to the shelter, which accommodates about 300 animals and is nearly full now, Chaboudy said.

With the cramped space available now, Chaboudy said, "It's like a game of checkers. You have to move one (animal) here to move one there."

The shelter is even more packed than it usually is this time of year. There are about 130 cats and kittens at the shelter, as compared with the usual 25 to 30, said Chaboudy. He could not explain the increase.

The shelter is trying to raise the needed $750,000 through private donations. So far, $160,000 has been raised, Chaboudy said, with a significant portion coming from George and Dolly Cutchens of Safety Harbor.

The medical facility will be called the Sterling and Calvin Medical Center, after the Cutchens' cat Calvin and their schnauzer Sterling.

"We're avid animal lovers," George Cutchens said. "We wanted to do something to help the Humane Society."

On Oct. 12, the Humane Society will be host of a groundbreaking ceremony for the medical center at 8:30 a.m. at the shelter, 3040 State Road 590 in Clearwater.

For information about the shelter's expansion project, call the shelter at 797-7722.

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