February 18, 2019 — The animal shelter in the unincorporated area just outside Fort Bragg has re-opened, after shutting down in 2010. The facility is on Summers Lane, just outside city limits and within sight of the Humane Society. The shelter has capacity for 14-16 dogs, and about the same for cats, with the breakdown for cats being nine adoptable and six lost or stray animals. Shelter Director Richard Molinari said the facility could also take in a few chickens and maybe a rabbit, but no exotics or large animals.
All the dogs and cats at the shelter are fixed, micro-chipped, and vaccinated. A new owner can usually make it out the door with a shelter dog for about $150, but many of the older animals are eligible for a senior discount, which sometimes amounts to the cost of a $25 county dog tag. More often, though, this discount is half the cost of a regular adoption. The shelter does not sell tags for the city of Fort Bragg.
Molinari estimates that the cost of running the facility will be about $90,000 this fiscal year, but that going forward, he anticipates the cost will be about $135,000 to $140,000 a year.
Tune in to take a tour of the facility during Saturday’s open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony, meet the dogs, and hear from the people who work there.