About

We are working to end the euthanizing of treatable and adoptable dogs and cats in Mason County. We purchased property with a pole building. This property is zoned Residential/Estate, which is eligible for a special land use permit for an animal shelter. This property does not pay property taxes due to our tax exempt status, we do pay liability insurance and electric.  That is our total legal and financial obligation for this property. 

Helping to make Mason County a no-kill community - one dog and cat at a time.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Construct, staff, operate and maintain a no-kill shelter for Mason County cats and dogs at (3349 W Johnson Road, Ludington, MI  49431. The facility will support the temporary care and welfare of up to one hundred cats and ten dogs. Resident cats and dogs will receive the medical attention, socialization and training necessary to help their adoption and placement into permanent homes with caring, capable new owners.

The shelter will include the following attributes and features:

1. Colonies for cats (indoor and outdoor) and quiet area with big cages for sleeping and sleeping.
2. Sleeping and play area for dogs (2X size required by MI), with chair and window. The area includes access to an adjacent outdoor play court which includes a pool and agility area.
3. Kitty cottages outside the main facility for FIV, senior & pregnant cats, with security cameras in all the cottages and playrooms, for security and safety
4. Nursery room for kittens
5. Medical area to allow veterinarians to volunteer for spay/neuter events, as well as conduct wellness exams and emergency procedures.
6. Office & break area for staff
7. Communications (landline telephone, internet) capabilities
8. Television in most rooms as that calms the animals.
9. Storage closet LARGE (cat & dog food, etc.)
10. Paved/unpaved parking for (#) twenty vehicles.
11. Security lighting in & around facility and parking lot with security cameras
12. Appropriate natural screening at property boundaries to the east & west, trees, bushes, natural, no fuss plants
13. Onsite, live-in manager facilities (small apartment?), double wide, near the road, on the established concrete slab.
14. Green certified construction with Geo-thermal heating, wind & solar electrical power with (diesel/gas?) backup.
15. Electric power facility vehicles (size/type?
16. The shelter, once constructed and staffed, will be poised to serve the needs of Mason County residents, supplying a temporary haven for stray, abandoned and unwanted cats and dogs.      

The facility will be staffed with caring professionals and volunteers that will help ensure these unwanted and uncared for animals are restored to full health and wellness, and ready for adoption by caring and capable new owners. In establishing such a shelter, the Mason County PAWS Humane Society will set the standard for the care and rehabilitation of homeless and abandoned cats and dogs in the State of Michigan, while meeting the needs of Mason County residents who are interested in adopting healthy, well-adjusted and behaved rescue cats and/or dogs.