Saturday function raises cash, hopes for new shelter

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Daily Sun photo/Ron Farmer Prospective buyers browse the auction table Saturday at the Humane Society of Navarro County's 'Barnraiser' fund-raiser held at Dobbins Crossings. A day full of activities was held to raise funds to help build a new animal shelter for Corsicana.
Daily Sun photo/Ron Farmer The Manning-Dixon Band performing under nightime skies at Saturday's Humane Society of Navarro County fund-raiser. The group was part of a day full of activities held to raise funds for a new animal shelter.

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October 11, 2010

By Janet Jacobs Corsicana Daily Sun The Corsicana Daily Sun Mon Oct 11, 2010, 09:40 PM CDT

Corsicana — More photos from the Humane Society Barnrasing are available on our Facebook page.

The Humane Society estimates it raised more than $10,000 for the construction of a new animal shelter in Corsicana from Saturday’s Cause for Paws Fundraiser. The estimate is just based on the sales and silent auction items Saturday. Ticket sales and donations made before the day of the event are still being counted, said Julie Maupin, president of the Humane Society of Navarro County.

“We made over $5,000 on the silent auction, then there were ticket sales,” Maupin said. “The food was all donated, but we did have some expenses.”

All the money raised Saturday will go into a special bank account for the new shelter, she said.

“All of this money that came from this kick-off fundraiser, the concession stand, face painting, all that stuff, will go into the new shelter building fund. We do not mix the funds,” Maupin said.

An estimated 300 people attended the dance at Dobbins Crossing, which included barbecue, a silent auction and raffle event.

“I think we’re looking at a very successful event,” said Patty Bizzell, one of the event coordinators. “It was very successful and everyone had a wonderful time.”

The city was donated some land, and bought additional acreage adjacent to Tiger Stadium with the intention of putting a new athletic park there for baseball and softball fields. Because the lot is somewhat large, the city also wants to build a new fire station on that land, and put a new animal shelter nearby.

Two years ago, the city estimated a new animal shelter would cost at least $1 million.

Because the Humane Society wants the shelter sooner rather than later, it’s also going to seek out grants and other ways to raise funds, Maupin said.

“We already have some ideas, but now we have to go after the bigger money,” she said. “We know we can’t get this done unless we can successfully land some grants and go to other sources for money.”

Building a state-of-the-art shelter means factoring in cleanliness, adoption areas, isolation areas, medical areas, and ventilation needs that are unique to this kind of structure, Maupin explained.

“We’re not looking to build a fancy building on the outside. It needs to be pleasant, inviting and serviceable, but inside needs to have the kind of kennels and surfaces that will make it long-lasting, easy to clean, and workable that will put a stop to many of the problems we have now,” she said. “Now, we have a decaying sad building that’s not healthy for the animals and not good for the people who work there.”

Having a modern facility will also make it possible to host events such as spay/neuter clinics, to fix animals before they leave the shelter, and to quarantine dogs and cats that need to be separated from the rest of the population for medical reasons, Maupin said.

The group also hopes to get the entire county involved in the goal, since it will serve all the animals of Navarro County.

“We want to involve everybody, we want to involve the county. We want everybody to participate,” she said.

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Janet Jacobs may be reached via e-mail at jacobs@corsicanadailysun.com. Want to “sound off” to this article? E-mail: Soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com

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Saturday function raises cash, hopes for new shelter

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