Best Friends Animal Society gives Kanab City Animal Shelter an upgrade

Best Friends maintenance staff work on the jump/buried fence at the Kanab Animal Shelter. Photo provided by Best Friends.

Best Friends assisted Kanab City with building the animal facility over 20 years ago and recently provided some upgrades. Several members of the non-profit organization’s maintenance and construction team spent more than 200 hours on repairs, including inside gates, fenced areas and a door that is functioning once again so that dogs can access the outdoors safely.

The pound had recently had a couple of escapes from the outside yard at the facility and was struggling to find some quick solutions to fix the problem. With the assistance of Best Friends employee Tierney Sain, the problem was assessed by Best Friends staff and their maintenance crew began fixing the fencing on the outside and fixing the gates and replacing old latches on the inside.

“The police department is busy with dogs coming in locally, where they stay for five days in hopes of being claimed by their owners,” said Sain. “Before being fixed, dogs were able to escape over and under the facility’s fencing. Now they are safe and secure.”

Brand new epoxy flooring was also put in by Best Friends maintenance staff at the Kanab Shelter. Photo provided by Best Friends.

The building crew poured a new epoxy flooring on the inside making it look cleaner and making for easier cleanup for the animals that are housed there. The overall cost of the projects was approximately $4,500 and work was completed April 21.

“Since the police department hired new officers and purchased new gear this year, there were limited resources left for the much-needed improvements. Best Friends is happy to provide these upgrades, which will make life easier for the Kanab Shelter and its four-legged guests,” Sain said.

The project is one of many collaborations between Best Friends and the local shelter. The police department, who operates the shelter, checks for identification, and notifies owners that their dogs are missing, resulting in many happy reunions (any dog unclaimed after five days is transferred to Dogtown at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab).

“The police department is always helping out community pets, so we’re happy to be able to return the favor,” Sain said.

“Best Friends has been great to work with over the years and takes possession of all the unclaimed animals that come through the pound,” said Police Chief Tom Cram. “Thank you, Best Friends Animal Society, and all your staff from the Kanab City Police Department, for all the hard work and for helping to make a better place and environment for the animals to stay in Kanab City!”