Friday marked a historic milestone in north suburban Riverwoods, where the Orphans of the Storm animal shelter broke ground on a new facility that will replace a nearly 100-year-old structure.
“The building is almost 100 years old. We struggle to keep it warm in the winter. The dog kennels, we have to stuff newspaper in between the metal door in the kennels in order to keep the dogs warm; that’s what we do at the end of the night to insulate it,” said President Michelle Shields.
The shelter was founded in 1928 by Irene Castle and Helen Morton Swift. In many areas it’s still the same structure as when it began 98 years ago. Inside, areas are cracking, and there are rusty gate locks and small spaces for the animals.
“It is literally falling into the ground,” said Executive Director Rick Alexander. “So over the last four years, Michelle Shields, the president, and myself have been working behind the scenes with architects, touring shelters around the country, finding out what works for animal welfare and making sure it’s not just a place to hold animals but a place to enrich animals.”
The new facility broke ground Friday and is expected to debut in 18 to 24 months. It will feature medical spaces, indoor adoption areas and improved modern animal housing.
State Sen. Julie Morrison helped secure $600,000 of grant money for the project.
“I’ve lived in Deerfield for 35 years, and my family came here to get a pet,” she said. “I mean I’ve known about this place forever, but obviously it needed to be modernized and made more safe. So I’m delighted to get to support it.”
During Friday’s event, shelter dogs wore mini-construction hats, and the cats played with toy construction cones to celebrate the new era.
During construction, the shelter is at 40% capacity, relying heavily on foster families to ensure dogs like Dante are cared for while waiting for adoption.
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